Caged Flower: Neji's Strange Encounter
by starfire2098
Summary: Neji Hyuuga isn't the only one who feels like he's locked in a cage, so what happens when he meets someone who's been locked away her entire life? Haibisukasu is a caged flower left to wilt and wither away in the darkness by her clan and the rest of the village, can Neji save her? or will she disappear forever? Rated M for later chapters. Warning: Contains Lemon!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! You get the point. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Hi guys! This is my first Fanfiction, so be gentle okay? I know my grammar is a little off, but I'm working on it! It's all thanks to my friend RevyRock that I can do this anyway, I'm usually too shy. Just so we're clear, I start with a prologue and then continue to the actual story, just so we're clear… anyways ON TO THE STORY!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Prologue:**

The ANBU scattered throughout the compound searching for any signs of life. A report had come in that morning, of an entire clan disappearing in one night, without a trace. The Sandaime dispatched five ANBU to the scene. There were no clues as to what had happened, everything was silent. It was a search mission, the only questions to be answered, how and why.

**Chapter 1**

Neji Hyuuga was currently standing inside one of the many shops lining Konoha's streets, studying a board game for sale with intense scrutiny. Normally he wouldn't even be giving this shop the time of day, but considering he lost a bet with Lee and Gai-sensei, he was in the process of looking in the shop for a game that they could play on their next mission. He had been through several shops already, but nothing had caught his eye yet. He was looking for something that would hopefully stop their childish antics and not bore him to death at the same time.

With a sigh, Neji placed the current game piece he was looking at back on its board and turned away. This shop had been a bust, too.

"You placed it sideways," someone said behind him.

"I what?" Neji inquired, not even bothering to look at the person.

"The game piece...you placed it sideways."

Neji gave another irritated sigh, turning to face the person to grace them with one of his famous, Neji Hyuuga death glares. "So?"

The girl he had turned to face, for it was a girl, seemed unperturbed by his glare. She merely shrugged her shoulders and looked down "So... you should place things back the way you found them, don't you think?"

"And what if I found it sideways?"

He was getting annoyed with the girl, he was in a hurry and she was slowing him down._ I hope that I can get out of here before Lee and Gai-sensei think up another crazy contest for me to participate in._

The girl who had been silently considering his question finally answered. "Well, if it was already sideways, shouldn't you be courteous and place it the right way for other customers?"

"Do I look like I have the time to do that?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. Besides, it will only take a few seconds."

Neji glanced from her, to the board game, to the piece in question. Not even bothering to let out a sigh, he righted the piece and turned to be on his way.

"Now it's facing the wrong way."

Neji felt his eye twitch in aggravation, as he slowly turned to face the girl, again. He then looked down to glare at the game piece, as if it had done him personal harm. "What do you mean it's facing the wrong way?"

"This particular piece has two faces. You put the wrong face forward."

Neji placed two fingers on his temple. _I can't believe I'm arguing with this person I hardly know, over a stupid figurine, for a game no less. I must be going insane. _

_"_Look, I'm in a hurry, can't you just turn the piece around by yourself?"

She looked at him dead in the eye, it was kind of creepy the way she did that. "I can but that would only fix part of the problem."

"What?" _What the hell is wrong with this girl? _

_"_I could change the piece's position, but I've only partially fixed the problem. I wasn't the one who set it that way in the first place. It's better for those who created the problem to fix it, right?"

"Yeah, sure" _This is crazy, but I get the feeling she's not talking about the board game anymore_.

Neji looked at the game piece again, knowing he was already late for training; he turned the piece the correct way. "There," He looked up for the girls' approval.

She stared at the piece then nodded her head. "Good, alright then, I'm leaving now."

She nodded her head again, still staring at the piece. As he was backing away she looked up at him a small smile on her face, "I hope we meet again someday."

Neji nodded his head slightly, then turned and fled the store._ I hope the fuck not._

A/N: So what did you think? I know it's short, but I promise the chapters will get longer as the story continues. Please Review!

Edited/Updated: 8/22/15


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! You get the point. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Hi again, I'm back! The second chapter is UP! Yay! And I already have nine views, hehehehe. Although I'm sad that no one's reviewed yet *sad face* I would like them to help improve my writing... oh well. ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 2**

Neji flew over the many rooftops of Konoha on his way to the training grounds. Looking for games had taken time, and his unfortunate run-in with that strange girl had made him late. _Beyond late,_ he thought bitterly, and Neji Hyuuga was never late.

"Lee and Tenten will never let me live this down," he muttered, pushing himself to go even faster. To the naked eye he would have been nothing but a blur, if anyone had even bothered to look up, that is.

As expected, when he arrived at the training grounds, Lee immediately began his overly-excited, youthful! he was reminded, speech about the importance of time. It was even complete with tears and unneeded taijutsu moves for added effect. Tenten was looking at him as if he'd grown a second head and Gai, was ferociously congratulating Lee on his empowering, awe inspiring, youthful! speech.

Neji muttered an apology, which went unheard by both his team mate and his sensei, and he wondered for the millionth time, why he had been assigned to such a team in the first place.

Tenten, whom Neji considered the only sane one on the team besides him, had snapped out of her momentary shock to catch the end of his apology and made her way towards him. "Apology accepted, but it's not like you to be late Neji. Did something happen?"

Neji glanced at her, then back at his currently tearful teammate and responded with, "I lost a bet against Lee and was forced to spend the entirety of my morning looking for suitable games for us to play on our missions."

Tenten nodded her head; Lee often challenged Neji to some sort of bet or contest, almost daily. It was nothing new, and neither were the strange punishments or requests for the loser. _Knowing Neji, he probably didn't even try to win this time_, Tenten thought.

"So did you find anything?" She meant the question as a sort of joke, but by the way Neji's face darkened, it wasn't much of one.

"No! I couldn't find anything. Not one shop had anything suitable for playing that wasn't childish or boring! Not one!"

Tenten looked over at her comrade; it was rare that he would go off about something so trivial. She figured there was more to it than just not being able to find a suitable board game.

"Calm down Neji, it's just a game, what really happened?"

Neji grimaced as he replied, "Some girl got in my way when I was trying to leave the last shop. She kept going off about this one game piece that I had supposedly placed back wrong, and she wouldn't let me leave until I fixed it."

Tenten chuckled. "She wouldn't let you leave? I find that hard to believe. Was she the shopkeeper? What, did she hold you down with a wooden pole and force you to move it?"

"No" Neji eyed Tenten, "She just kept talking to me and asking strange questions and giving me strange answers when I asked her what the deal was. She's the whole reason I'm late in the first place. If it wasn't for her, I would have been here five minutes early."

"If it wasn't for whom, Neji?"

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten all but shrieked, as their former sensei appeared behind them.

"Nobody, Sensei, just some girl I meet in some shop looking for games earlier today... I don't even know her name."

"Looking for games? In a shop you say? Well then... There is no better way to start the blossoming of youthful love! Wouldn't you say Tenten?"

"What? No! I mean...he was only looking because of Lee anyway! Right, Neji?"

"Hmph" Neji just looked away, not even bothering to acknowledge either of them.

"Because of Lee?" Gai's brows furrowed at this new information.

"That's right sensei!" Lee exclaimed, bouncing into the conversation. "Neji lost a bet with me and I thought a good punishment would be for him to find a suitable game we could play while completing missions."

"Good idea, Lee! Not only would it pass the time but it will keep our minds sharp too! Excellent decision, Lee! I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!"

Neji just shook his head at the utter nonsense that was coming out of both his teammate and Sensei's mouths. After another minute of their useless tears, he decided to get them back on track. "Sensei didn't you call us here for something?"

"Hmm? Oh yes! Team Gai, I called you here today, because I have some important news. We..." He paused for dramatic effect, "...have a new mission!"

This exclamation caused collective sighs and one, overly-excited, hurrah from the members of the team.

"I think my headache just got worse," Neji muttered.

"So, what type of mission is it Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked.

"It's an A-rank mission, possibly involving rogue ninja. We are to report to the main gate first thing in the morning and head out to apprehend them. It might be difficult, but don't worry, I have the utmost confidence in you three!"

"Do not worry, Gai-sensei, we will do our best!" Lee all but shouted.

"I'm counting on you, Lee." With that and his trademark grin and thumbs up, Gai left.

Neji let out a long sigh, it seemed like everything was becoming extremely bothersome lately.

"Well, if that's all, I'm going home," he said. _I need an aspirin_.

Tenten nodded and Lee said, "Remember, Neji, first thing tomorrow morning."

Neji nodded, taking off towards the Hyuuga compound.

A/N: Chapter two, officially finished. I hope you enjoyed it, chapter 3 will be up later today or tomorrow. please review! Thanks!

Edited/Updated:8/22/15


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: People sit in chairs in a small darkened room. There is a single light up at the front where one lonely girl stands. Only a few applaud as she begins to speak. Wow two chapters in one day. I'm on a roll aren't I? I'm not one to continuously complain about reviews since my story has only been up about a day, but they would be nice. anyways on a lighter note I did get placed on someone's story alert list and that makes me happy! I just hope I live up to their expectations. ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 3**

The next morning, before the sun had even risen in the sky, Neji stood ready and waiting at the gated entrance to Konoha. Neither Gai nor his teammates had shown up yet, he figured he'd practice his Byakugan while he waited,_ Three birds, four birds... and Tenten_. After recognizing his teammate, Neji deactivated his Byakugan and turned to greet her.

When he turned around he noticed there was one more person, other than his teammate, making their way towards him._ But they weren't in my blind spot_. Just to make sure he wasn't going crazy, truly Lee and Gai-sensei make you wonder sometimes, he reactivated his Byakugan, staring directly at the person for good measure. They didn't appear, "What?" Neji's brows furrowed as he tried again, still nothing, _One more time_.

"Neji...what are you doing?"

Neji deactivated his Byakugan at the sound of Tenten's voice in his ear.

"Nothing, it's just that…that person over there doesn't appear in my Byakugan," Neji said perturbed, gesturing towards the figure.

"What?"

Tenten turned her head in the direction Neji was gesturing, the direction she had just come from. Sure enough there was a person there, a girl, making her way towards them. Tenten squinted, trying to make out the person in the early morning light; it didn't look like a figure she recognized. "Well that's interesting," she muttered. Neji nodded his head, agreeing with her statement.

"What is interesting, Tenten?" Lee asked, magically appearing out of the sky and landing right next to her.

Tenten turned to look at her partner with an expression caught between flustered, amazed, and annoyed. "The fact that you could hear me from such a high point is... no, never mind," Tenten shook her head vigorously. "That girl over there," she said, turning back to the direction she was facing earlier, "It seems that Neji can't see her with his Byakugan."

"What? But that is impossible! No one can hide from the power of the Byakugan."

"Maybe..." Neji murmured, trailing off as he tried to assess the person more accurately, his eyes widened as he recognized the figure.

Lee also turned to look at the girl. "I do not recognize her, do you, Tenten? Neji?"

"No" "...Yes" came the subsequent replies.

"What! You do?" Both Tenten and Lee turned to stare, wide eyed, at Neji. "Who is it then?"

_It can't be possible._

"It's..."

_This really can't be happening._

"...The girl..."

_Oh hell no. _

"...From the shop, yesterday."

_Fuck._

* * *

Sukasu walked slowly down the quiet streets of Konoha, headed for the main gate. She had been assigned a mission, _"a simple scouting mission nothing more." _She bitterly repeated the Godaime's words back to herself. Easy, single-nin scouting missions, the only thing she had been assigned to since, FOREVER!

"How can they treat me this way? I'm a jonin now for crying out loud, at least assign me a team or something!" She exclaimed, under her breath. But she knew they would never assign her a team, nothing even remotely close to it. She wasn't trusted to be a part of a team; she was barely even trusted to leave the village.

"Stupid, village! Stupid, teams! Stupid, trust issues!" Sakusu continued to mutter curses under her breath as she made her way closer to the main gate. She began to slow when she heard voices coming from up ahead. She looked up, knowing that the only people up at this time of the morning were ninja. _Ninja_ _on missions_, she added remembering her earlier qualms.

As the gate came into view, so did the people under it, all of them she recognized. _Although they don't know who I am...Except maybe...one. _Yes, one, the guy she met at the game shop the day before. _What was his name again? Neji? Yes, Neji... Hyuuga. Ah, one of the Hyuuga...well this should be fun,_ she smiled.

* * *

Neji watched his face impassive, as the girl came in to view and slowed to a stop in front of them, smiling. _Why the fuck is she smiling? _Neji stared at her.

"Hello" Sukasu said, quietly, to the small group of ninja. Neji stopped staring at her and turned his head away, proceeding to ignore her completely.

"Nice to see you again"

He glanced back at her, and then looked away.

"Hmph"

"Um"

"Hi!" Tenten greeted, hoping to diffuse the tension that was slowly building between the two teens.

Sukasu turned to face Tenten, "Um, Hello," _again_.

"So, Neji said you were the girl he met in a game shop yesterday."

Sukasu noticed that Neji visibly stiffened at Tenten's words, she nodded.

"So...are you visiting the village?"

Neji turned his head slightly at the question, he didn't want to make it look like he was interested, but he was. He waited, impatiently, for her answer.

"...No, I'm not...I live here."

_Well that's news_, Neji thought.

"You do? I've never seen you before."

"Yes, I have not noticed you around here before, either," Lee piped up.

"Um..."

Neji crossed his arms. _This girl..._

"ALLLRIGHT! My youthful former students are you ready to go!?"

Gai-sensei jumped down from one of the many buildings nearest the gate, landing neatly in a cloud of dust, in front of the four ninja.

"He fails to read the situation as always," Neji muttered arms still crossed. He was about to turn and mention something along those lines to his sensei, when he noticed everything had become extremely quiet. Neji completed his turn and froze in shock at what he saw. Gai-sensei, who had his mouth shut for once, was staring at the girl with a look of..._was that, it was,_ Supreme aggravation.

"You"

The way he said it made even Lee, shiver.

"What are you doing here? ...Haibisukasu."

_So, her name is Haibisukasu_, Neji's mouth quirked up in a sort of half smile, more like a smirk, _Interesting_. He watched the girl, awaiting her response. Haibisukasu, he noticed was standing in a sort of defensive position, subtle but there. _Is she expecting us to attack her or something? _Neji's eyebrows furrowed.

"I...I was sent on a mission, I was just leaving."

Neji caught the slight waver in her voice. _Is she scared? Of who, us? No, that's not right, she was fine talking to us. Gai-sensei, then? But, why?_

"A mission, eh? What type of mission, exactly?"

"Scouting"

"By yourself?" Lee asked, amazed.

She nodded.

"Woah"

Neji noticed that Gai-sensei seemed to relax after she nodded. Haibisukasu continued to keep up her defensive position.

"How long?"

Gai's question brought Neji out of his analysis. _Why does he care?_

"Two days"

_And why is she answering?_

"Good"

_What the hell is going on?_

"You should be leaving then"

She nodded and began to walk past them to the entrance.

"Excuse me?"

All eyes turned towards Lee, and Sukasu stilled, turning her head back slightly.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"...Sukasu," she whispered.

Neji turned fully toward her. _What? But I thought her name was..._

"What?" Lee hadn't been able to hear her.

_Maybe, it's a nickname._

"Haibisukasu," she said, louder this time.

"Haibisukasu, is it? Well then, Haibisukasu, I hope we meet again."

Neji noticed Gai freeze at Lee's words, although his facial expression didn't change. Haibisukasu nodded, and then disappeared.

Translation:

Haibisukasu- Hibiscus

Sukasu- look through/see through

A/N: Oooohhh, so how does Gai-Sensei know Haibisukasu? Find out next chapter! Maybe, Hehehe. Please Review!

Edited/Updated: 8/22/15


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Chapter 4, whew I had to rewrite this three times before it even got to this level and I completely scrapped one idea I had this is actually the longest chapter yet. See! I told you they'd get longer. So a note to any of those who care, I'm going to Hawai'i for two weeks so I won't be posting the next chapter till I get back. by the way the next chapter is going to get a little interesting...I'll explain later ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 4**

Sukasu jumped from tree to tree, her silver mane flying out in a thick curtain, behind her. She slowed down, manipulating the air around her to use as a second set of eyes, as she closed in on her destination.

_I count five, in the immediate area, and the rest are all spaced at ten meters apart, surrounding the village. It's worse than we thought, what are they trying to hide, hiring rogue ninja? _"Just what are they planning?" She whispered to herself.

There was a shift in the wind, Sukasu ducked, just in time to avoid a kunai thrown at her from behind.

"Hey! You, Who are you and what do you want?"

"It's not nice to throw weapons, and then ask the questions you know," Sukasu said in a sweet voice, she turned around slowly to face her attacker.

"A leaf-nin, huh, you all just don't know when to stay out of things that aren't your business."

"Maybe, but if it's something that's eventually going to involve the leaf in an unneeded war, don't you think we ought to know about it?"

"I already told you, bitch; it's none of your goddamned business what we're doing. But something tells me if I don't kill you, you're going to keep on sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Go ahead and try," Sukasu said in obvious challenge.

"Keh, don't underestimate your opponent, bitch."

Immediately after he said that, five more ninja appeared, surrounding Sukasu. _Shit, he alerted the others to my location. _She threw the long ends of her sleeves back off of her hands. _I just hope I don't use up too much chakra killing them all. _She smiled, as the wind picked up, swirling with deadly force, all around her. _I wonder how team Gai is doing right now._

* * *

Neji flew through the trees at record speed. He was following behind Tenten and using his Byakugan to scan the surrounding area for enemies, when she asked. "Gai-sensei?"

"Hm"

"That girl from earlier...the one Neji met at the game shop?"

"Haibisukasu?"

"Yeah, who is she exactly?"

Gai-sensei's face took on a grim demeanor as he responded, "Sukasu is...an interesting story."

Neji looked ahead, towards Gai-sensei, a frown forming on his face. _Guess it is a nickname._

"Sukasu comes from a clan with a unique kekkei genkai. The Hana, as they were called, were able to manipulate the elements with their chakra to subdue their enemy and drain them of their life energy. However, they can also create new life using the life energy and chakra they've taken. But Sukasu…Sukasu can do more than that. True to her clan name, Sukasu is the only known person of this generation capable of using the Flower style."

"Flower style?" Neji asked, "What's that exactly?"

"I guess the easiest way to explain it, would be that, she is able to use flowers to her advantage. Most wouldn't see a flower as a useful weapon, but for her, it's her ultimate weapon."

"Her ultimate weapon?" Neji was beginning to look extremely interested.

"Yeah, like Yamato's wood style she can create what's not there, add that to the fact that she is able to drain you of life through her manipulation of the elements, it makes her extremely powerful, and also extremely dangerous."

* * *

The wind had turned into a tempest, forming swords that impaled their targets with deadly accuracy. Dark red blood went flying in every direction, its owners, left dying on the forest floor. Their bodies seemed to wither away and decay on the spot. Shriveling up to mere husks of skin and bones, and a silver haired beauty stood in the middle of it all.

* * *

"Extremely dangerous, huh?" Neji went back to scanning their surroundings. _She doesn't look that dangerous, although if an enemy did attack her, she could probably just pester them to death. _His lips quirked upwards at the thought.

"So wait, if Sukasu is from the Hana, and she lives in the village. Where's the rest of her clan? Better yet why have we never seen or heard of her before?" Tenten asked quickly.

"The rest of her clan isn't around anymore. They all disappeared, or more accurately, they were killed off, she's the only survivor. As for why you've never seen her before... That's because she's kept away from the rest of the village; however, she's rarely allowed out of the village."

"She's rarely allowed out? Why?"

"Because...she's too powerful and if she does leave...we couldn't track her."

"We can't, why not?" Tenten asked with a bewildered look on her face.

"Neji, have you noticed that your Byakugan doesn't work on her, yet?"

"Yeah, I couldn't see her behind Tenten when I was scanning the village earlier."

Gai-sensei nodded grimly. "You can't see her with your Byakugan, ninja hounds can't sniff her out, and chakra beetles can't follow her chakra signature. She's untraceable, unless you can see her, you can't find her."

* * *

Hundreds of kunai came flying at her, from all directions. I'm not going to be able to dodge them all, she thought. "Scatter" she broke into thousands of tiny flower petals and disappeared.

"Hey, where'd she go?"

"I don't know."

"Idiot, you're a sensory type! Find her!"

"I'm trying to! But I can't sense her chakra, it's like she doesn't exist!"

"Ugh, you're useless! Kurai! Can't you sniff her out with that abnormal nose of yours?"

"No, it's like she doesn't have a scent, either."

"Looking for me?"

* * *

"They can't?" Tenten asked.

Lee just looked completely dumbfounded, "Truly, this girl is amazing."

Gai-sensei shook his head, answering Tenten's question. "No one knows exactly why she can't be tracked. They assume it has something to do with her flower style and the different chakras she's able to absorb. But the fact that she's hard to trace makes her perfect for scouting missions."

"But why do they keep her locked up in the village?" Neji asked going back to what Gai had said earlier. "Do you think she's going to run away and become an enemy ninja? That could be any of us; Sasuke and Orochimaru are proof of that."

"It's a definite possibility that she could run away. She's tried to before, although that was years ago, and she hasn't tried since. But no, the main reason is that she's too powerful. The Hokage believed that it would be best for everybody if she was kept from the possibility of harming the villagers and vice versa."

"Harming the villagers? It just sounds like you're keeping her locked up because you all are afraid of her power," Neji said, his voice growing angry. _Or they just want to keep her powers confined to the village...just like the Hyuuga._

Almost as if he was reading his mind, Gai replied with, "Well I'm not entirely sure about that. You'd have to ask the Hokage directly."

"Keh" Neji looked away.

"But wait Gai-sensei, how do you know all of this about Sukasu anyway?" Lee asked, curious.

"Well, that's because I was her sensei for a while."

"What! You were?" Both Tenten and Lee yelled, in unison.

"Yes, I was, and keep it down you two or the enemy will know we're coming."

"Yes, sorry Gai-sensei! So how did you become her teacher?"

Neji shook his head, _These fools. _Although, he was just as interested as them. _Though this explains why it seemed like they knew each other. It also explains why Sukasu took that defensive stance, she knows of Gai-sensei's strength._

Gai-sensei looked down at the tree limb he had landed on before responding.

"The Sandaime asked me."

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"So who was it that you wanted me to meet, Hokage-sama?"_

_"Gai-sensei are you aware of the Hana disappearing?"_

_Gai stared at the Hokage's back confused as to what that question had to do with anything, but he answered anyway "Of course, it's all over the town. What about it?"_

_"Well not all of them disappeared. One person, a child, remains."_

_"A child?"_

_"Yes...Haibisukasu you can come in now."_

_The door to the Hokage's office opened and a young girl slowly stepped around it, closing it softly behind her. She padded to the middle of the room then stopped, her head was down, covered by a mess of shockingly silver hair._

_"Gai"_

_"Yes, Hokage-sama"_

_"I would like for you to teach, Haibisukasu here, taijutsu. Can you do it?"_

_"Of course, Hokage-sama"_

_"Haibisukasu, this is Gai-sensei, he'll be your taijutsu teacher from now on."_

* * *

Thousand Thorns Kick! The ninja went flying. His body looked like it had been punctured with thousands of little needles; he was dead before he hit the ground. One more, Sukasu thought as she turned to face her last opponent.

* * *

"Wow," Lee said, "Gai-sensei you are the best! To be picked as a sensei for someone that powerful. Does this mean that Haibisukasu is good in taijutsu too?"

"Good? Ha! She's amazing. She could probably beat you, Lee. "

"Really?" Lee's eyes shone with the joy of having another strong opponent to face.

Gai smiled at the enthusiasm his former student was showing.

* * *

Heavy breathing filled the air as Sukasu dodged another shuriken. _That was his last one, _she thought panting. _Now's my chance, _She ran forward, and impaled the ninja with a katana she had picked up from another fallen Nin. "But how, I don't understand, there's just one of you, how could you defeat all of us?"

Sukasu leaned forward, a smirk on her face. "Don't underestimate your opponent," She whispered. The rogue mist-nin's eyes widened, in fear, as he died.

Sukasu pulled the katana from his chest with a sickening squelch "There, all done," She said. _But, I've depleted more chakra than I wanted to. _She placed her hand on the dead Nin's face. _I guess a little wouldn't hurt. _A soon as she began to drain the ninja, the black hibiscus symbol that appeared on her back began to glow.

When it began to burn, she released her hand. "That should be enough for now." She looked around at all the carnage that she had created. "I guess I should get out of here before people come looking." With that she jumped up to the nearest tree branch and was off.

_I have a little time, I could go find team Gai and lend a hand, _she laughed. _Now there's a thought. I wonder what Gai-sensei will say._

A/N: So next chapter will contain a lime. I know I know it's not the lemon you've all been looking for but I'm getting there. I just want them to have some sort of background before that happens it's not like it's a NaruHina fic, if that was the case the lemon would be right in the beginning. Well I've blabbed on enough, remember please review!

Edited/Updated:8/22/15


	5. Unintentional

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: I'M BACK! and guess what? I have a REVIEW! a review yippee! my first one! I have never been so excited in my entire life! so I wanted to give a big **THANK YOU! **to **KilljoysMakeSomeNoise** for being my first reviewer, and such an awesome one at that. You will always hold that special spot as number 1, and I do plan on continuing this story till the end so no worries! Oh yeah! Hawai'i was awesome by the way, too many pigeon's for my liking though, they always strut around like they own the place. I don't know why it annoys me but it does. By the way this story takes place after the time skip, I guess I should have mentioned that sooner, but you've probably figured it out by now. Right? Anyway, ONWARDS! to the moment...and lime, that you've all been waiting for! CHAPTER 5!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 5**

"Gai-sensei," Neji called to his former sensei, quietly.

"Yeah, I know how many are there?"

"8...no wait, one of them just disappeared." Neji turned his head to make sure that the person wasn't in his blind spot. _What? They're gone. _As he searched for the missing person, another one disappeared, _Again?_

"Neji! How many are there?"

"7, no wait, 6...5" _What? What's going on? They're all disappearing._

"What's happening, Neji?"

"I...I don't know, three people have suddenly gone missing."

"Gone missing?" Gai asked, biting his lip, "and you don't see any other people around that might be taking them out?"

"No"

"..."

"Gai-sensei?"

"Neji, how far are we from the village?"

"About 60 meters, but what does that have to do with...?"

"Neji!" Gai interrupted him, "Deactivate your Byakugan, and when I say duck, duck."

"What?"

"Neji" Gai shifted backwards to look at his student.

Neji nodded his head and deactivated his Byakugan.

"Good... now, DUCK!"

Neji ducked, and as soon as he did a massive gust of air blew over the space he had occupied a moment before. Neji's eyes widened, _If that had hit me, I would've..._

"What the fuck was that?!" Tenten yelled, from her stationary position on a branch, a few yards ahead of Neji.

Neji rose and opened his mouth to ask Gai-sensei the very same question, when a flash of silver appeared, and then disappeared into the foliage. _It was just for a second, but I'm positive that was... _"Byakugan" Nothing appeared. Neji felt a smirk appear on his face and looked upwards to see Gai staring into the foliage with a grin, "Oh, I see."

"See what, Neji? What's going on?"

"Patience, Tenten you'll see in a second."

True to his word, a second later, Sukasu appeared doing a backflip in midair trying to avoid multiple kunai. Holding out her hands to catch herself on a nearby branch, she flipped up that she was standing on top of it. Seeing that she had been spotted, Sukasu flashed everyone a brilliant smile before jumping off the branch to confront a bandit that had appeared beneath them.

"Wasn't that...Haibisukasu?"

Gai-sensei nodded.

"What the hell is she doing here? I thought she said she was going on a scouting mission."

"She did," Gai-sensei said. "But she didn't say **where** she was scouting."

Neji raised an eyebrow as he caught on to what Gai-sensei was implying. "You aren't saying that...?"

Gai nodded his head again, a serious look on his face. "It's a definite possibility."

"But, why? Obviously, people have already scouted the area, so why send her back here?"

"For obvious reasons of course, more information, but that's just my educated guess. If you really want to know what she's doing here, you should ask her," Gai-sensei said, pointing down at the girl currently fighting beneath them. "I'm sure you'll get an interesting answer."

Neji's eyes followed the direction of Gai-sensei's finger to where Sukasu was engaging the bandit, or had been. The bandit was already dead and Sukasu was gone. "She's gone!" Neji said surprised. "That was quick, what happened?"

"Ah, she'll be back in a moment. Lee! Did you see what happened?"

Lee was currently standing frozen on a tree limb about 10 feet away from Neji staring down at the ground with his mouth agape, he didn't respond.

"Lee!"

What? Yes, sorry Gai-sensei! What was your question?"

"Did you see what happened?"

Lee began nodding his head vigorously, "Yes, yes it was amazing! I watched it with my very own eyes! Her taijutsu is flawless. She completely overtook that guy with one move! I would love to fight her someday, Gai-sensei!"

Gai nodded his head, "As expected of my student. He knows a good opponent when he sees one."

Neji looked down at the bandit once more. _To defeat him that quickly with just taijutsu is incredibly amazing, even Lee couldn't be that quick. It's almost unbelievable._

Neji looked towards Gai-sensei intending to ask him if the bandit was really dead, and not just unconscious, when another powerful gust of wind hit their little clearing.

Sukasu appeared beneath them once more, this time dodging shuriken. The last bandit; from what Neji could tell, the others had disappeared, ran towards Sukasu broadsword in hand intending to finish her with one blow. Sukasu dodged him, and then let loose a flurry of kicks and punches that were almost invisible to the naked eye. One punch seemed to glance off the bandits' temple, but it must have only been an illusion, for the bandit fell to the ground dead.

* * *

Sukasu stood up straight, admiring her handiwork. _He looks so pitiful, with his mouth hanging open like that. He and his friends were barely worth my time, I didn't even have to use any of my borrowed chakra, so sad._

Sukasu was interrupted from her thoughts, when a pair of legs wrapped in green tights with orange leg warmers, appeared in her field of vision.

"Gai-sensei," She greeted, looking up at him.

"Sukasu," He replied. "Would you mind telling me what you're doing here, even though I probably already know?"

_If you already know, then why ask? _Sukasu thought before responding. "I finished my mission a little early, thought I'd kill some time."

As she said this, Lee, Neji and Tenten all landed on the ground behind Gai-sensei. "Neji, Lee, Tenten," she greeted.

Tenten looked shocked that Sukasu knew her name, Lee looked ecstatic, and Neji just gave her one of his looks.

* * *

_How does she even know our names? It's not like we introduced ourselves earlier. Never mind, I don't care, I'll leave it as a mystery._

"How do you know our names?" Tenten blurted out, a second later.

_And there goes the mystery._

"Well, I have lived in the village my entire life, I should know people's names, even if you don't know who I am," Sukasu answered with a sheepish smile.

Tenten sat back on her heels. "Oh, right. I'm sorry, I totally forgot."

"It's alright, that happens a lot." Sukasu replied with a smile.

_Is…is she sad? She says it with a smile, yet her eyes look so dejected. _Neji looked at her again, before returning to assessing the physical damage done on the two bandits, up close.

_Almost all of their vital organs have been ruptured or completely destroyed. This one's ribs where crushed to the point that his heart burst, and that one. _Neji looked towards the bandit that had been hit in the head. _His entire skull's been crushed from the point of impact, and three of his ribs are broken. _Neji looked over at Sukasu and at what he could see of her arms and legs. They were slender but well-toned. _She did all this? From the looks of her I would say it wasn't possible, but..._Neji looked towards Gai-sensei. _Maybe, he taught her to open all her chakra gates. No, if that was the case then we all would have felt a serious surge in her power. Even with Gai-sensei as her teacher it's incredible that she's this strong, that last punch barely even hit the guy and it killed him. Natural talent then? Or excessive training? _Neji eyes shifted back to Sukasu, taking in her slender form. _Either way, it's just as Gai-sensei said, she's extremely powerful...and dangerous._

* * *

"So Sukasu, you finished your mission early," Gai-sensei said, repeating Sukasu's words back to her.

Sukasu looked at Gai-sensei. "Yeah"

"I hope you actually did some scouting this time, inside the village, I mean."

Sukasu's hand curled into a fist. "I got the information I needed," she said, through clenched teeth.

"So?"

Sukasu unclenched her hand, although her shoulders were still tense. "From what I could tell Ushinatta village is the center point of a major operation to create an army composed of forbidden jutsu users. At least, that's what I gathered from the tidbits of conversation I heard and chakra that I gathered. A lot of those whose chakra I harvested had been experimented on with forbidden jutsu, a third of them at least, their chakra was all out of whack."

"Also, this village, Hakken seems to be providing villagers to Ushinatta for that very reason."

"So, it's highly likely that there are rogue ninja inside overseeing the situation," Gai said, with a thoughtful look on his face.

Sukasu nodded her head in affirmation, "Yes"

"But, if these villages have rogue ninja," Lee asked "what do they need bandits for?"

Sukasu turned to face Lee as she answered, "For smuggling, transportation and protection. Bandits know all the secret roads in and around the villages and they work for a relatively low price, its cheap labor. Plus, they're expendable."

"I understand. So bandits will be inside the village too?"

"Probably, you should be careful though, even though I don't sense anyone around this village, the other one had a perimeter surrounding it. This one might have something similar."

Team Gai all nodded their heads at her statement. Caution was of the utmost importance.

* * *

"Sukasu"

Sukasu jumped at the sound of her name, her nickname at that, coming from Neji's lips.

"Yes"

"If you don't mind my asking, was your mission to scout ahead to the villages for us or did you just follow us of your own free will?"

Sukasu blushed slightly at Neji's question. "Actually my mission is classified. I'm not allowed to say much on the subject unless, I'm reporting directly to the Hokage. I came out here because I thought some of the information I gathered would be useful in helping you all." Sukasu's voice had sunk to a whisper by the end of her little speech, so Neji just barely heard the last part.

"What, why would you want to do that, I thought you said the information was classified?"

"Well excuse me for wanting to save you a trip to the hospital!" Sukasu yelled defensively.

"Like I would end up in the hospital because of some rogue ninja" Neji fought back, her comment had hurt his pride.

"Now, now, keep it down you two," Gai cautioned "Do you want them to hear us coming?"

Sukasu looked at the ground sheepishly, "Sorry," she muttered.

"Sukasu," Gai-sensei continued. "Thank you for the information but you should return to the village before your time runs out."

_Her time, what's that?_

Sukasu sent a pleading look Gai-sensei's way. "What? But I just got here. I still have a day, besides I wanted to have some fun."

"You've had your fun. If it wasn't for you, all of us would have had to use up more chakra than necessary to fight off those bandits," Gai-sensei said sternly.

Neji stared at Gai; it was rare that he was so serious. Usually, it was when he was warning Lee of the dangers of a taijutsu technique. _Why is he so forceful with her?_

"I'm not leaving, at least let me watch the fight. I need the time to rest anyway."

_That's why. She's a stubborn one, isn't she?_

Gai-sensei sighed, actually sighed. Tenten gasped in shock and Lee was oblivious, thanks to his new found infatuation with the female Leaf-nin in front of him.

"Fine, but only if you stay out of the way, I don't want them getting hurt." He had mumbled the last bit but Neji still caught it.

_What does he mean 'he doesn't want us getting hurt'? Why would she hurt us?_

Sukasu frowned, she had obviously heard what Gai-sensei had said as well, and she wasn't happy about it. "Fine then, let's go," and she was off through the trees, heading in the direction on the village, team Gai following closely behind.

* * *

_There's so many of them, _Neji thought.

They had infiltrated the village fine, with Sukasu's help, and were silently taking out enemy ninja and bandits alike, when Lee had so graciously announced their presence by dropkicking a bandit through a warehouse. Sensei called it youthful. Neji called it foolish, and foolish it was, because here they were surrounded by bandits and rogue ninja with seemingly no way out.

_And Sukasu disappeared the moment we got caught,_ Neji thought, biting his lip angrily. _Damn, sneaky fox. _But he knew it was for the best, Gai-sensei had told her to stay out of the fighting anyway.

_But still,_ he thought, doing his third rotation, sending kunai, shuriken, and some of the not so bright bandits, flying in all directions. _She could have at least picked off one or two of them for us._

"Neji, look out!" Tenten yelled. A spear she had summoned had been knocked away from a ninja and had been directed perfectly into Neji's blind spot. _Too late, _he thought the spear was too close for him to repeal or evade. He prepared for the impact.

It never came.

Silver hair appeared in front of Neji, _She blocked the attack? _"What are you...?" His question died in his throat when he saw where the spear had hit her. It was neatly lodged in her sternum, the tip poking through her chest. The blood was spreading rapidly through her clothing. Had she moved slightly to the right when the spear hit, it would have gone straight through her heart.

"Hurricane…barrier" Neji's eyes widened _what's she... _Suddenly a huge dome, created from high speed winds, formed around the two of them. Neji looked back and saw the same thing had formed around both Lee and Tenten. Gai-sensei was on the other side of the warehouse.

"Water style, Ice… Spear, Shower"

Spears made from solid ice rained down from the sky impaling the enemy left and right. "And… just in case, Wind…style…Wind Scythe." Whoever remained from her first attack was dead within seconds, from the second. Sukasu let out a sigh when she was sure no one was left and released the jutsu keeping them inside the barrier.

Sukasu turned around to face Neji. "You..." she grimaced,"...should…be more careful… with watching that...blind spot of yours."

"How do you know about...?"

He never finished his question as Sukasu fell forward with a groan.

Neji caught her, "Hey, you're still bleeding!" He exclaimed when he saw the blood still dripping from her wound.

"No kidding, I'll...be fine..."Sukasu panted albeit with a smirk. "I just need...a little…time."

"A little time! A spear's stuck in your chest, you've clearly used up just about all your chakra with those last couple of moves and all you say is 'you need is a little time.'" He snorted at the stupidity. "You, need a medic."

Sukasu tried to chuckle, the sound getting caught in her throat.

Neji was still worried, but the fact that she could laugh at a time like this was annoying him, "What's so funny?" he asked.

"It's just...it's not… like… you… to be worried."

"Keh, What do you know about me?"

"More… than… you think," she said, moving to get up.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"You'll…see." She stood, wobbling a little before she steadied herself.

"Flower…style, Lotus… flowers… sealing.

She seemed to just break apart right before his eyes, her body becoming the petals of a lotus. She shifted and seemed to float over all of the fallen ninja, her petals enveloping their bodies.

Neji blinked. "What's going on?" It seems like everything the petals touched withered away. "Dry skin and bones," he whispered, "Just what is she doing?"

After a couple more minutes of this, Sukasu materialized in front of Neji, once more. The spear was gone and her wound had healed. The only thing to show for it was her blood soaked clothing.

"What, did you do?" He asked her.

"I took their life energy, to heal myself."

"Life energy, but they're dead."

"I know," she replied, "But they haven't been dead long. They still retain some of their energy. I just used what was left of it."

"And it healed you?" _Obviously,_ he berated himself, _what type of question is that?_

She nodded, "I used the energy, to speed up my healing processes, to close the wound."

Neji didn't respond. _Couldn't she just have used her chakra for that? Oh, right, she used it _he grimaced. _Just what was she doing, that she used all of her chakra, in such a short amount of time?_

"Woah, what happened over here?" Gai-sensei appeared from the other side of the warehouse.

"This is your doing isn't it, Sukasu?" Gai said looking towards her, he didn't look happy. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of this fight?"

"I'm sorry, Gai-sensei, it was my fault," Tenten said, running up. "I accidentally caught Neji in one of my attacks and..."

"No, Tenten" Neji cut her off, "I was careless and Sukasu was forced to come to my rescue, it was my fault."

"But, Neji..."

Neji ignored her, "I apologize for having to have you come to my rescue, you ended up getting hurt because of that, I am sorry."

"Uh no, don't apologize, it was my decision and I should take the blame for it." Sukasu said holding her hands out in front of her. "Seriously, it's okay, really!"

"Gai-sensei, I think it would be best if we camped out tonight and returned to Konoha in the morning."

"Good idea, Neji, I believe that would be best."

"What! No, I'm fine, we can leave. You don't have to stay because of me." Sukasu tried to change Neji's mind.

Neji just sent her a look that said he wasn't in the mood for her stubbornness and he sure as hell wasn't changing his mind.

Sukasu shut her mouth and hung her head in defeat. "Fine, but can we stay outside of the village…please."

Neji paused for a second then nodded his head.

"Good, then I know just the place to go."

* * *

Sukasu led them to a spot a few meters outside the village, where they could set up camp for the night.

"I'll take first watch," Neji said his voice brooked no refusal. Gai nodded his head and Neji left to find a tree limb to station himself on.

He chose a spot to the right of their campsite, a little ways off the ground, and activated his Byakugan, on the lookout for any intruders.

He had been at it for about fifteen minutes when he sensed her. He couldn't see her, but he was becoming used to her presence.

"What do you want?"

"To show you how to get rid of your blind spot?"

It came out like a question but he could tell she was dead serious.

Neji deactivated his Byakugan and gave her an incredulous look. "And how do you suppose you're going to do that?"

"I know a way."

"Do you?" Neji went back to observing the surrounding forest.

"Would you like to try it out?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He was skeptical about her being able to get rid of his blind spot; the Hyuuga couldn't even do it. "I can't, I have to keep watch."

"Gai-sensei can do that."

Neji sighed; he knew she was right, Gai could keep watch while he learned whatever technique she had up her sleeve. But that didn't mean he wanted to, he still tried to come up with an excuse.

"Neji, if you don't want to learn it you can just say so."

The use of his name startled him. It was the first time she had used it in casual conversation. It was a little disconcerting to say the least.

Neji thought about her offer. _It would be good to get rid of the blind spot, but could she really do it?_

"You don't show up in my Byakugan, so how will I know if it even works?"

She snorted "Simple, I show up in your Byakugan."

Neji looked at her. "You can do that?" It sounded like a dumb question but he really was curious, for someone that didn't show up in his Byakugan to simply say they would, it was interesting to say the least.

"I know the reason why I don't show up. It will be simple to just stop doing it."

Neji nodded his head, if whatever she had up her sleeve had the potential to get rid of his greatest weakness, it was worth a try. "Fine then, I'll try it out."

"Great, follow me" She sped off into the woods.

* * *

They came to a clearing a little ways away from the campsite. There was a small waterfall there, which descended into a clear pool, in the middle of the clearing.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked.

Sukasu had stopped in front of him, and had begun to disrobe.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It's unbecoming of a lady to strip in front of a man that isn't her husband."

"Well that's too bad, I don't exactly consider myself a lady, and I'm not exactly stripping either, I'm only taking off my top layer."

True to her word she stripped down to her skirt and top, and sat down to take off her shoes. "Come on, you should take your clothes off to, you don't want them to get wet do you?"

"No," _and why would I get wet? _"But you should choose your words more wisely. You make it sound as if you want me to disrobe completely."

She just giggled and said "Come on, follow me," and she stepped out across the pool of water.

Neji made to step out after her but as soon as he hit the water, his chakra wavered and he almost plunged in. He steadied himself, and looked towards Sukasu hoping she hadn't noticed she had.

Sukasu moved to stand in front of him. "You've used up a lot of your chakra."

"Nothing a little sleep can't handle."

"Yes, but you can't exactly sleep right now can you?"

"Well there's nothing I can do about that right now, is there." Neji retaliated, getting annoyed.

"Yes, but this exercise uses a lot of chakra, so you're going to need it."

"I'll manage"

"No, you can't, but there is something I can do about your chakra."

"Like what?"

"This" Then her lips were on his.

* * *

Neji's mind went blank. _She was kissing him? Why? _But those questions didn't hold for long, soon the only thing he could think was_, her lips are really soft, _and he couldn't help but want to kiss back.

His lips burned as he realized that she was transferring chakra to him through her mouth. That was as far as he got before he felt her tongue push against his lips asking for entrance, he parted his lips willingly.

Her tongue added a whole new sensation to the mix. The feel of it sliding over his, intertwining with it, then leaving to trace the cavity of his mouth, added to the burn of her chakra transferring into him, it just felt so...good. And he wanted more. His hands which had been resting at his sides came up to rest on her hips and soon began to trace up and down her waist.

He stepped forward, pulling her towards him, and deepening the kiss. She moaned and he reveled in the new sensations. He shivered when her hands, which had been resting on his shoulders, moved down and began to trace lines over his chest, his abs, his stomach, and back up again, leaving white hot trails of chakra in their wake.

He moved his hands up under her shirt to cup her breasts, as he broke the kiss. Placing butterfly kisses over her cheeks, and down her neck, he nipped and licked at the raised flesh. All the while, he massaged her mounds, using the pads of his thumbs to add friction. He licked his way back up her neck, creating swirling patterns with his tongue, all the way up to her ear. Turning his head slightly he began to nibble lightly on her earlobe, eliciting a small moan from Sukasu.

Tracing the shell of her ear, he placed a kiss on her temple before returning his attentions to the soft mounds of flesh in his hands. Moving on instinct, he circled the left one and reached up to pinch the hardened nipple. She gave a soft cry when his mouth caught hers again. Their tongues intertwined once more, and heavy pants and moans filled the air.

The sound of tearing fabric could be heard when Neji ripped her shirt, releasing her breasts from their confines. Breaking the kiss once more, he leaned down to capture the right one in his mouth.

* * *

Sukasu threw her head back, arching her back she pushed herself into him a loud moan escaping from her mouth. _It's too...why? What? I don't... _She thought panting. She had only meant to give him some of her chakra, she hadn't meant for it to turn out like this. She cried out, when Neji bit down on her nipple, releasing the mound of flesh to lick the small wound he had created. _I never thought he was capable of something like this, but...damn, it feels so good,_ she panted as his tongue traced circles around her breast. Sukasu felt an unfamiliar heat begin to pool in between her legs and her knees began to buckle. _What? What is this feeling? It's like I want..._She tangled her hands in his hair, both to steady herself and press even further into him, trying to stifle another moan.

* * *

Neji heard her moan and felt the tug of her hands in his hair pushing her breast further into his mouth. He knew she hadn't meant for this to happen, _but it serves her right for pestering me so much, _and it didn't help that she decided to transfer chakra through her mouth either. He released her breast to meld her lips with his once more. _I want her,_ he thought, _I want all of her._

The strangeness and wildness of the thought shocked him out of his current state of mind. He broke the kiss and pushed her away. Holding her at arm's length he looked her up and down. Her eyes were heavy and half-lidded, her hair was disheveled, falling wildly all over her face, her body was covered in sweat, and her shirt had practically been ripped to shreds.

He looked at the bite marks he had left on her neck, her chest, bruises were beginning to form in some places, and her nipples were still hard from the attention they had received.

_What was I doing? _"I'm sorry," he apologized.

His words seemed to shake her out of her daze.

"Huh? Oh...I...uh, don't worry about it," she said a blush forming across her face, "It was um...an accident, its fine, really."

Neji blinked _an accident? _He shook his head slowly "still I acted inappropriately and I am sorry."

Now it was Sukasu's turn to blink. _Even though it was an accident, he still apologized. _"Really, it's nothing, I promise. You can just make it up to me by working extra hard on this technique I'm going to show you, okay."

Neji nodded "Okay but..." A blush formed on his face.

"Huh? What?" _what's this? He's blushing?_

Neji untied his shirt from its place around his waist and held it out to her. Looking away, he said, "You should probably put this on first."

"What? Oh" Sukasu looked down at herself with a giggle. _I guess he's right, my shirt's practically gone. That's probably why he's blushing too, it's cute though._ She took the shirt from him. "Thank you."

"No problem"

As Sukasu slid the new shirt over her head she thought. _It's strange, that this feels so natural even though everything that's happened between us so far, on my part anyway, has been unintentional._

A/N: soooo...*wink wink nudge nudge* what do you think? Neji has some pent up sexual urges he was just dying to let out doesn't he? if he doesn't then he's inhuman, though I decided to reel him back in before it got too far. I will admit, I rewrote this lime multiple times and I still think it could be better, but that's just my opinion. the next chappie will be up soon. Toodles! and don't forget to review.

Edited/Updated: 8/22/15


	6. New Technique?

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So chapter 6 is kind of like my chill chapter, it's literally like only half as long as chapter 5. There's not much going on in this chapter but I did add a little cute moment between Neji and Sukasu towards the end. I don't have much else to say that can't wait till the end so...ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

Chapter 6

For the next four hours Neji worked almost as hard as he had for the Chunin exams. Sukasu was tough for a sensei and barely allowed any time for rest; she worked Neji to the bone.

_I see why she wanted me to have more chakra_ Neji thought warily. _This technique is hard to master, even for a 'genius'._

* * *

Four hours earlier:

"So what's this new technique you're going to teach me?" Neji was still skeptical about being able to get rid of his blind spot; but he was interested none the less.

"What I'm about to teach you is a simple concept; but hard to master, so listen very closely."

"I'm listening."

"Good. So you already know how your blind spot works, correct?"

Neji nodded his head, "Yeah."

"And you've always thought that it was an unavoidable weakness; and in order to compensate for it you use your rotation, right?"

"Yes."

Sukasu nodded her head thoughtfully. "Okay. Can you activate your byakugan for me?"

Neji stared at her for a second before he activated it. _She's not going to show up, _"Byakugan."

Neji blinked, surprised. "Why are you suddenly showing up in my Byakugan?"

"I already told you that I would show up earlier, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but you didn't say how."

Sukasu sighed; _he's a curious one all of a sudden_. "It's because, I lowered my defenses a little."

"Not showing up is part of a defense?"

"It's a natural defense, but if you can figure out how to control it; it becomes a great technique to have."

Neji just stared. It seemed as if he was doing that a lot lately. _A natural defense? Against the byakugan? I thought it was just some secret technique that was a part of her flower style; at least that's the way Gai-sensei explained it earlier. I'll have to research this later._

"Okay. So how does this," Neji waved his hands in between the two of them, "get rid of my blind spot?"

"Well, as of right now I have a clone, with all its defenses up, holding a kunai directly in your blind spot." Sukasu told the clone to lower its defenses for a second, to show up in his vision.

Sure enough the clone was standing directly behind him with its arm up, but Neji couldn't see what it was holding. Neji signaled that he could see the clone and Sukasu had it raise its defenses again.

"Okay, so this technique involves you moving your chakra center. Sukasu began.

"By moving my center? How am I supposed to do that?" Neji interrupted her.

She gave him a look that said she didn't like being interrupted, before answering. "You know how your chakra network is closely intertwined with your organs and cardiovascular system in that it converges at a singular point; in this case around your stomach area."

"Yes."

"And the byakugan works by sending chakra to the eyes? Correct?"

"Yes," Neji said again, not sure where she was going with this.

"Well, there is a small amount of space in this convergence area that you can move the center point in, by moving the center point you move the place the chakra is emitted from, and if you constantly move that point you constantly change the area your Byakugan encompasses and virtually rid yourself of the blind spot. It requires extensive knowledge of the chakra network; which as a Byakugan user you already have."

"So basically you're telling me that added to the chakra I'm sending to my eyes, I'm also compiling chakra in the center point and forcing it to move, by constantly switching the point the chakra is emitted from within that small space?"

"Essentially, yes"

"But if I'm concentrating on moving the point of emission, doesn't that mean that I'm basically a sitting duck during battle? If I can't move then what's the point in learning the technique, plus this technique uses more chakra just to move MY chakra it kind of defeats the purpose."

"Well, once you master the technique concentrating becomes like second nature; but for right now, yes you probably would be a sitting duck so it's a good thing we're not in the middle of a battle right? As for the chakra, it only defeats the purpose if you don't know what you're doing. This technique requires an amazing amount of chakra control and use. That's where all that chakra I gave you comes into play…"

Neji's face reddened a little at the mention of their earlier _accident_.

"I probably already know the answer to this but, why the water?"

"It forces you to maintain perfect chakra control and balance. On the ground you wouldn't have to worry about dropping straight down into water if you mess up."

He nodded his head at her explanation, _as I thought, it's a good training method but it also makes learning this technique that much harder. _Something occurred to Neji at that moment. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it earlier. "How do you know so much about the byakugan anyway?"

Sukasu went quiet and her eyes hardened. "That's not important right now. Besides, Do you want to learn this technique or not?"

Neji was taken aback by the sharpness of her voice. He didn't respond.

"Okay then, shall I continue?" She didn't wait for an answer.

"Like I said before, once you master this technique it becomes like second nature; so the use of chakra for it will seem almost insignificant. However in the beginning it will feel like you've used your byakugan nonstop for a week straight."

If Neji was upset by this his face didn't show it. It remained blank the entire time she spoke.

"Like you said this technique has a simple concept but if that's the case, why has no one ever figured it out?"

"I never said no one knew about it… or used it before."

"Then people know about it? Who?" _If someone knows about this technique why didn't they share it with the Hyuuga or the Byakugan users within the clan?_

"Yes, one person knew about this technique; and he...was your father."

Neji felt the blood leave his face, "What?"

"Your father was the only other person, besides you, who mastered this technique and used it to his advantage."

_She speaks as if I've already mastered it. _"And how do you know that my father used this technique?"

"Because…he's the one who told me about it."

"My father... told you? He knew about you?"

A pained expression flashed across Sukasu face for a second before she composed herself and answered. "Yes he told me, and he knew me, he knew me very well. He was my...guardian for a while."

"Your guardian?"

Sukasu wouldn't look at Neji for a while. It was a minute before she spoke again. "It was a long time ago; I was very young and just learning to control the greater part of my powers. He...he was helping me."

"But why would he tell you and not the rest of the Hyuuga? This could have helped us greatly."

"He didn't tell them because of the risks involved. As for why he told me...that I don't know. I could never really grasp what he was thinking. Maybe it's because he wanted someone to have the knowledge..." She trailed off. "Honestly, I really don't know why he told me. Maybe it was because he knew I'd meet you someday." Her mouth quirked upwards a little at the thought.

Neji just looked down at the shifting waters beneath his feet. _So my father knew about this technique; and he knew about Sukasu, but he never told anyone. _Another thought occurred to Neji.

"Wait, these risks, what are they exactly?"

"Well..." Sukasu fidgeted with the edge of her skirt. "The worst case scenario, life wise, is death; from the overuse of chakra and being rendered physically immobile until your heart stops from the amount of pressure… but I don't think that should happen. The other part was" She paused. "Your chakra network will break down under the strain and you would lose the ability to use and manipulate chakra and in turn you would lose the use of your byakugan, and go blind.

If it was possible Neji paled even more, "I... Would lose..."

"But I'm sure that won't happen either." Sukasu interrupted quickly. "You have me for a teacher. If I see any signs that, that might happen I'll stop the training immediately! So...it'll be okay. I promise."

_What does you being my teacher for this have to do with anything? _"What makes you think I can master this technique?"

"Because you can."

Neji looked away from her. "Why? Because I'm a genius?" he thought of another reason. "Or is it because I'm my father's son?"

"No, I think you'll master it because you're you."

Neji looked at Sukasu, really looked at her for the first time that night. _She's so sure that I can master it because...I'm me? Most people would say it's because I'm a genius or something, but she...she truly believes I can do it._ Neji decided right then that he would master this technique and he would be better at it that his father ever was.

"Alright then. Let's get started."

Sukasu smiled. "Okay, let's start with you trying to move your center so that you can see the kunai."

* * *

Four hours later and Neji was doing his best to avoid or block attacks thrown at him from both Sukasu and her clone; while constantly keeping his center moving through his blind spot. He was beginning to master concentrating and moving but his movements were still slow.

"Shit." Neji cursed when a kunai the Sukasu clone had thrown managed to hit him. Again.

"Pay attention!" Sukasu called out.

"I am!" Neji called back angrily.

From behind Neji, Sukasu sighed. She knew Neji was trying his hardest but he had begun to slow down even more. She could tell he was beginning to feel the greater effects of the technique by this point. Looking up at the placement of the moon in the sky she thought. _I think now would be a good time to take a break. We've been at it nonstop for four hours already. _

Dispelling her clone, Sukasu stopped.

Seeing her chakra's motion change; and hearing the familiar sound of a clone disappearing, Neji stopped too.

"What's going on? Why did you stop?"

"We're taking a break we've been at it four hours already."

"But I can keep going!" Neji was unusually eager to master this technique. His enthusiasm could have matched Naruto's, in his own Neji like way.

Sukasu just glanced at him as she made her way to the edge of the pool and sat down. "In case you haven't noticed this..." _I guess it can be called a jutsu__,__ of some form or another, it uses chakra right?_ "This jutsu is taking its toll; you probably wouldn't have been able to last another five minutes before your network began to collapse."

"But..." Neji trailed off, he knew she was right his whole body felt like lead; and his chakra network was protesting even the use of his Byakugan, not like it hadn't been doing that since he started. He didn't even want to think about the fact that he was still standing on water. Neji sighed, sensing his defeat.

Sukasu offered him a small smile when she heard him sigh. "We can continue after you've rested. In the mean time you should probably deactivate your Byakugan."

Neji looked down at the water then back at Sukasu. "I suppose you're right"

He deactivated his byakugan, and almost plunged entirely into the pool of water beneath him. Deactivating his byakugan had caused his chakra emission to waver. Catching himself a second before he went completely under; he dragged himself, dripping wet, back up to the surface. He was met with the sound of laughter.

"It wasn't funny," he said annoyed.

Sukasu; however, had fallen off the rock she was sitting on and was currently lying in the grass, clutching her stomach.

"It wasn't...but...you should have seen... your face." She gasped out in between fits of laughter.

"It still wasn't funny," he repeated glaring at her, although he didn't look very menacing soaking wet.

Sukasu just laughed harder.

When she finally managed to calm down, it was five minutes later and Neji was sitting across from her with his arms folded; still glaring.

"I'm sorry," she said after a few seconds "No, it wasn't funny, because it means that you've used up almost all of your chakra. It's just that..."And she allowed herself a small chuckle before continuing. "I've just never seen you look so flustered before. It was amusing to see."

"I'm glad I amuse you so much," Neji responded sarcastically.

"But still," Sukasu said sobering up "if you can barely stand on the water that means we've done enough for the day. You're already further along with mastering it than I expected. We should start heading back."

Neji gave her a look, "I thought you said we were just taking a break."

"I did, but after that I think it's best if you rest up for a day. That amount of lost chakra won't return with a short break."

She stood up and walked over to their stuff. Picking it up, she made her way back towards him. As he made to stand and take his stuff from her, she said.

"Wait."

Pushing him back down into a sitting position, she sat in front of him.

"What is it now?" he asked exasperatedly.

"I'm going to give you a little more of my chakra so you can make it back to the village in one piece."

"I just do that back at camp." Neji made a move to get up and looked back down at Sukasu.

Sukasu had stayed quiet, but her eyes held a determination that he had only seen once before; when she was speaking with Gai-sensei. She wasn't taking no for an answer.

Reluctantly Neji consented.

"Hold out your hands." Was all she said when he sat back down. She wasn't going to take any chances and repeat their earlier incident.

Neji held out his hands and Sukasu grabbed them pulling them towards her, she placed her hands on top of his and began transferring chakra.

"Why couldn't you have done this earlier?" Neji asked her. "It could have saved us a lot of trouble."

Sukasu blushed. "Maybe, but the other way's faster, and I wanted to get started as soon as possible. I wasn't aware that _that_ was going to happen.

Now it was Neji's turn to blush. "Oh" was all he said. Before looking down at their joined hands.

It was five more minutes of awkward silence before three blessed words reached Neji's ears.

"Okay, all done." Sukasu stood. Grabbing their stuff, she held out her hand.

Neji looked from the offered hand to its owner then back down again. Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, he took her hand and stood up. Immediately he wobbled and his eye sight became blurry.

Sukasu suddenly appeared at his side supporting him. Wrapping his arm around her back she smiled at him.

"Come on let's go back."

They were half way back to the campsite before Sukasu realized something. She was still wearing Neji's shirt. She giggled.

Neji looked up at Sukasu from his slumped place beside her. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," was all she said as she continued walking.

Looking down at the shirt, Sukasu giggled again, _we haven't known each other that long but look where we are now. _She looked down at Neji. He had his eyes closed, letting her lead them back. Sukasu thoughts drifted back to earlier that morning. _"__She wasn't trusted to be a part of the team, she was barely even trusted to leave the village."_

_I think...I think...he's beginning...to trust me._

A/N: So like I said not much going on right? but like I said I did add a little cute part so that makes up for it I think. Next chapter starts Sukasu's backstory, and trust me it's not pretty, I'm spreading it out over two chapters so the deeper parts aren't until chapter 8. Anyway I'll just let you read it instead of trying to explain. Please Review!


	7. Memories of Light

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Hya! so I know most of you are probably wondering were the hell I've been, even though is only been like a week and a half, but if you must know my internet and word crashed at the exact same time. *WAILS* So yes this chapter was finished days ago it just took forever to post it...aaannnd it's probably not what you were expecting. Aside from my wonderful experience with technical difficulties; I also had a very depressing week which in turn made it hard to write a depressing backstory, so backstory has officially been moved to chapter 8. I sincerely apologize to all of those looking forward to it but... Don't worry I added some flashbacks in this chapter to make up for it and a surprise at the end so KEEP READING! if you wish to be satisfied. Also shout out to **Navieh** for being my second reviewer, I promised I'd have this chapter up this week and I did everything in my power to make that happen. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

P.S: The beginning is kind of just filler so if you want to skip it I'll alert you as to where you can start to get straight to flashbacks/dreams/Sukasu insight and whatnot. anyways...ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

Chapter 7

Neji and Sukasu made it back to camp, to find Tenten in almost hysterics. Having woken up to find everyone gone, including Lee. She had assumed that some of the bandits from the village had survived and found them; and dragged everyone away while she was sleeping.

Lee who had woken up to take a leak, and Gai ,who was keeping watch in place of Neji, heard Tenten and rushed back to calm her down. They had just managed to stop her frantic, and somewhat dangerous, antics; when Sukasu appeared supporting a much disheveled Neji.

Seeing Neji in that state caused Tenten to go on a whole other rant.

"So I was right! We were attacked! Why were you two trying to keep this from me! What happened? Where are they? Are they dead? 'Cuz if they aren't I'll kill them myself! Taking you guys and..."

Gai-sensei and Lee gave both of them looks that said _you deal with it,_ and went to sit down near the fire, having already spent the last hour trying to calm her the first time.

"Umm, Tenten?" Sukasu started out. "Who exactly was attacked?"

"You were!" Tenten said, pointing at them "weren't you?"

"Um, No?" It came out like a question. Both Lee and Gai shook their heads. _She's not going to believe her. _

True enough, Tenten moved to an uncomfortably close position in front of Sukasu. Placing her hands on Sukasu's shoulders and looking her directly in the eyes, Tenten blatantly stated. "I don't believe you."

"Er "

"If you weren't attacked why does Neji look like he's been through hell?"

"Probably because he has." That was the wrong thing to say. Tenten went off again.

"My god you're doing a terrible job at this." Neji finally spoke from his place at Sukasu's side.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, but between your unsteady gait, Tenten's screaming, and your horrible attempt at calming her down. Sleep was impossible."

"What? What do you mean my unsteady gait! I'm not the one who couldn't even stand on his own two feet twenty minutes ago and had to be dragged back here!"

"Dragged is the key word." Was all Neji said before turning to confront Tenten, leaving Sukasu fuming at the edge of the campsite.

"Tenten you're too loud." Neji said calmly shuffling past her towards his sleeping bag. Sitting down, crossing his legs he continued. "We weren't attacked. Gai was keeping watch, Lee was doing who knows what, and Sukasu and I were training."

"You where what?! At this hour? It's the middle of the night and what kind of training has you looking like you just fought a member of the Akatsuki? And Sukasu looks like she's been half choked to death."

Neji's face turned pink and he remained quiet for a long time, he merely looked down at his arms as if he'd find the answer to her questions there.

"Well? I'm waiting," Tenten said. Tapping her foot on the ground for emphasis.

"It doesn't really matter does it?" Neji finally responded. "You were worried about if we had been captured or not. We weren't. So you should be fine now. Don't worry about what we've been doing. If it leaves me looking like this it's because I've been putting my all into my training, okay? You should be satisfied by now Tenten."

Both Tenten and Sukasu stood in shock. The first because of Neji's nonchalance and disregard for her concern. Sukasu because of his roundabout way of answering. He was usually so straight forward.

"What? I should be...? Neji do you have any idea how worried I was? And here you are acting as if nothing happened..." Tenten went on and on.

"Hey." Sukasu sat down next to Neji. "Why didn't you tell her about your training? Don't you want her, and even Lee, to know that you're able to get rid of your blind spot?"

"Why should I? I haven't perfected the technique yet; and we're not even sure if it will truly work. The only thing she was really worried about was if we were captured, and we weren't. Besides, she didn't ask specifically what the training was about.

Sukasu looked at Neji who had put his head down. "You either don't believe this will work and you don't want them to get their hopes up. Or you do believe this will work, and you don't want them to worry."

"Neither. I just don't see the point in telling them."

"Liar."

Neji didn't respond. He had fallen asleep.

"...and you can just go straight to hell if you think that..."

"Hey, Tenten, quiet down. He's asleep."

"What?"

"Yeah, and you should go to sleep too. You've had a long day, we all have, and this isn't helping us return home any faster. We should all go to sleep. Actually," Sukasu looked over to where both Gai and Lee were sitting. They had both fallen asleep leaning up against each other. "**You** should go to sleep. I'll keep watch and I promise not to let anyone leave. Okay?"

Tenten sighed, and walked over to her sleeping bag. She was tired and overstressed from her panic attacks and from fighting. Sukasu was right. It would be better for her to rest.

"Goodnight." Sukasu called from the other end of the camp fire when she saw Tenten was settled.

"Goodnight."

"Now," Sukasu turned to face Neji, who was currently sleeping upright. "What to do about you." She sighed. She could just leave him there but she doubted he would find the position comfortable in the morning.

She sighed again before getting up and moving Neji into a better sleeping position.

"It's amazing that he didn't wake up during all of that," Sukasu stated, looking down at Neji's sleeping form. "And he said he woke up because of my unsteady gait. Keh. Unsteady gait my ass." _But then he must be really tired too. _

Now where should I go?

* * *

**FILLER SKIPPERS START HERE!**

_"Ne ne Su-chan? It's so dark and scary down here__,__ all alone. Aren't you lonely?"_

_"Lonely?"_

_"Yeah don't you miss your family?_

_"Family? What's a family?"_

_"A family? Like parents and brothers and sisters and stuff"_

_"Parents? I've never had parents."_

_"Sure you have. I mean how'd you get here anyway?"_

_"Here? I've always been here."_

_"In the dark."_

"_In the dark? You'__ve never been outside before? You've never seen light?"_

"_No."_

_"Well, in that case Su-chan? Would you mind if I showed you light?"_

Sukasu opened her eyes to the star covered sky. "I must've fallen asleep." She said quietly. Peeking out from her perch in the trees, she checked to make sure everyone was okay.

_Naori. How long has it been? Since then?_

Resituating herself, on the tree branch, her eyes began to fall shut once more.

A rustling in the trees alerted her to his presence.

"What do you want, Gai-sensei?"

"You're tired, go to sleep. I'll keep watch."

"Speak for yourself you've been keeping watch all night. No"

"It wasn't a suggestion. Go to sleep, to preserve your youthfulness."

Sukasu allowed herself a small chuckle before she said "Whatever."

* * *

_Naori? Naori! Why?_

_"You see what happens to those who disobey me! She's dead now DEAD! And all because of you."_

_She's dead. She's dead. They killed her. Her own family__.__ Her mother her father her brother, they killed her. How could they? She was their daughter__,__ their own child…_

_"You see child__,__ you ABOMINATION of our clan, you see now what YOU did!"_

_No! No! I wasn't me! He told them to kill her! They did it! She didn't deserve to die. She loved them and they, they KILLED her. Killed…they killed…she didn't deserve…didn't deserve…they…killed…deserve…died…they…didn't deserve…they didn't deserve…didn't deserve to… kill…they…died…they didn't deserve to…_

_"If it wasn't for you I might have overlooked her-wrong doings. I might have let her..."_

_"__…Live__"_

Sukasu woke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. The sun was up. _Just a dream. _

"I see you're awake."

Sukasu just looked at Gai sensei, she didn't have the strength to respond. Her body was trembling her dream still fresh in her mind. The sound of angry voices reached her ears causing her to look down.

Tenten and Lee were going at it and Neji obviously wasn't helping. Tenten apparently wasn't a morning person.

"You should probably go down there and stop them."

"Right, cause that worked so well the last time," Sukasu said rolling her eyes. She was slowly regaining her composure. Trying to force the memories out of her mind. "Why can't you do it?"

"Tenten can be a little scary sometimes."

"Scary? She was your student. How are you scared of her?"

Gai-sensei just gave her a look before unceremoniously shoving her out the tree. "Go stop them with the awesome power of youth!"

"What? Hey!" Sukasu gave a huff of displeasure before flipping to land safely on the ground.

"Wow, Sukasu that was such an amazing landing. You are very nimble," Lee said completely forgetting about his and Tenten's disagreement.

"Why thank you Lee, I appreciate the complement." Sukasu responded smiling brightly at him.

Neji looked between Lee and Sukasu. _It was just a normal landing why is he treating it like the next best thing since shaved ice? And her, her smile, it's too excited, too bright. No__,__ not just her smile__,__ everything about her__ just seems a little...off. _

"Sukasu, I believe we are ready to go. Where is Gai-sensei? Neji asked calmly; watching Sukasu's every movement.

"Hm? Oh! Okay!"

Neji just stayed silent waiting for the answer to his question. _She's not usually so absent minded. _

"Oh" Sukasu exclaimed finally realizing what Neji was waiting for. "Gai sensei is up there." Sukasu answered Neji's question, pointing up into the trees.

"Well then in that case shouldn't we be going?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, let's go!" Lee shouted.

"Yeah!" Sukasu said excitedly.

_Again with the over excited smiles. It's like she's trying to cover something up. Like she's afraid we__'__ll figure it out if she doesn't act happy. I should keep an eye on her. _

As they leaped up to join Gai sensei in the trees Neji noticed Sukasu pause for a second. Her facial expression almost…pained.

_What this?_

* * *

Sukasu made a move to follow team Gai out into the woods. When a searing pain shot through her back. _Shit! Now of all times! To happen right after... _She grimaced trying to hide it in case one of the others saw.

Another wave of pain shot through her back. A warning. Her time was running out. _I have to get back as soon as possible_, Sukasu thought leaping up to join the rest of the rest of the team.

Sukasu managed to collect herself before she caught up with them, but apparently not enough to fool Gai sensei.

"It's bothering you isn't it? That seal?" Gai-sensei asked when Sukasu appeared beside him.

She faced forward, her silence was her answer.

"We should hurry then. And get home before..."

"Its fine," Sukasu interrupted, speaking through clenched teeth. She didn't like where this was headed.

"You're forgetting that that seal binds you to the village, stay out too long and you'll regret it."

"Yeah yeah I know, don't remind me." Sukasu jumped ahead of him, effectively ending the conversation. _Besides I'm the one they put the seal on, if anything I should be telling him that._

* * *

Flashback:

_"Its official the council has decided to place a seal on you for the greater good of the village. I'm sorry Haibisukasu."_

_Sukasu stared at the Sandaime, her face a mask of indifference. _

_"I tried to have them reconsider, but after everything that's happened...they don't think it's a good idea to let you roam free-Ahem-without proper __'__safety measures__'__ in place." The Sandaime looked a little uneasily towards the young girl in front of him, trying to gauge her reaction to the news. _

_Sukasu stood in the center of the room her silver bangs dirty and unkempt covered most of her face. Her eyes__,__ dead and vacant__,__ peaked out from between her bangs; staring straight ahead. She barely showed any indication of listening to the Hokage. _

_"Would you like to know what these measures are?"_

_Sukasu didn't respond. _

_"Well," the Sandaime continued, "this seal is part one of the measures put in place to keep the village-and you-from harm. The seal will act as a bind...you do know what a bind is don't you?"_

_Sukasu didn't move, she didn't speak; she simply stared._

_The Sandaime sighed__,__ the girl hadn't shown any response to anything, the only emotion they had seen from her was fear; and that was when they had found her inside a Hana clan member's house 4 weeks ago. _

_"The seal will both bind you to the village and act as a sort of limiter to your chakra. As a member of the Hana and a user of the flower style you have a near unlimited amount of chakra; this seal will limit both your intake and use of it."_

_"The second part is that you are to live in a place secluded from the village, surrounded by both a barrier and genjutsu. This is mainly to keep unwanted prying eyes out and less to keep you in, since you are not allowed to leave the village anyway; you are however allowed to leave the inner barrier."_

_"I managed to petition to the council that not being allowed to leave was too harsh for someone who has been locked away their entire life, it's like placing you in another prison. So the council has agreed for you to train to become a leaf shinobi and as such you are only allowed out of the village on missions for a set amount of time. However if you have not returned to the village within that time the seal will "remind" you to return. I apologize but that was the only thing I could do for you...Are you even listening to me?"_

_Sukasu remained silent. _

_The Sandaime gave an annoyed sigh but really he was sad that the girl was so unresponsive. "At least give me some sign that you heard what I said."_

_Nothing._

"_Fine. You may leave then."_

_Sukasu didn't reply she merely turned and left. Leaving no indication that she had been there at all. _

_"At least now I know she was listening__,__ to that part anyway."_

End flashback:

* * *

Sukasu jerked sideways narrowly missing a tree trunk, as the pain in her back grew greater. _I know I made it seem as if I wasn't listening that day. But really I was just so shocked that I had no idea what to say. Who knew gramps would go and tell everyone else involved that I wasn't paying attention. _

Another spike of pain pulled her out of her thoughts, pushing her to go faster just to make it back to the village on time. She didn't want to go through any pain even remotely close to the sealing ever again.

* * *

Flashback:

_Sukasu cracked an eye open to find herself surrounded by ANBU ninja. _That's right todays the day of the sealing.

_"Get up were leaving." One of them said roughly pulling on her arm to yank her off the futon she had been given. "Hurry up and get dressed."_

What's the point_.__ Sukasu thought as she slowly moved towards the pile of clothes that had been neatly folded and placed on the floor. _What's the point in anything really? It's not like what i'm wearing really matters during the sealing anyway.

Hey, Naori what do you think?_She thought as she slid into the white dress she had been given just for this day. _

_"You're too slow," the same ANBU muttered as he grabbed her arm once more to haul her out the doorway. She didn't bother to tell him that his grip was hurting her. _

_"Hey she's not allowed to know where we're going remember." Another ANBU called to the one holding her. _

_The ANBU stopped and turned to stare at her. At least as far as she could tell, the mask hid his eyes. _

_"You're right," the ANBU said pulling her closer to him. Sukasu didn't bother fighting, they would beat her anyway and then she'd have to deal with angry ANBU and a sealing. There was no point. The last thing she saw was the white and read of the ANBU's mask before her vision went black. _

_She woke up in the dark as her eyes adjusted she realized she was staring at the rocky underside of a cavern ceiling. She also realized that she was lying on something hard and cold and that the fabric of her dress did nothing to mask it. She tried to move, to roll over but she could only go about quarter way before being pulled onto her back again. If the chains rattling were anything to go by; she'd say she'd been tied to whatever she was lying on. _

_"I wouldn't move much if I were you. The sealing ritual is about to begin."_

_Sukasu didn't respond letting her silence speak for her. She didn't care. She did however stop moving; a gut feeling telling her it would be painful for her if she did. _

_"Good now that you are awake and still, the sealing will begin."_

_Sukasu barely had any time to react or steady herself before she felt a scream rip its way out of her throat. If she was expecting the sealing to be like anything, she wasn't expecting this. She felt as if every bone in her body was breaking and she was being set on fire. Her skin being flayed off mercilessly from the heat. _

_Her back arched__,__ almost inhumanly, off the slab she was lying on, her arms and legs pulling against their restraints trying to lift herself away from this terrible pain. Another scream was torn from her lips when a second wave of pain hit her; layering over and amplifying the first. Sukasu felt the tears begin to stream down her face as she fought against the restraints her body growing weaker with each passing second. _

_She couldn't see everything was black, pitch black, until suddenly there was a flash of brilliant white. Her last thought before passing out was _Hey, Naori isn't it strange. That it's so dark in here yet I don't feel lonely? Maybe it's because the last thing I see before being thrown back into the darkness, Is your bright shining light?

End flashback:

* * *

A few hours later and team Gai, plus one, had made it safely back to the village.

The pain in Sukasu's back had subsided to a dull ache. She knew it wouldn't completely go away until she reported to the Hokage. And even then probably not till a few hours later that she would completely recover.

Sometimes she was left to suffer a little longer, punishment for disobeying orders and all that. _Total bullshit_, Sukasu thought. _After all these years they should know that doesn't do a fucking thing. They might as well be trying to teach a dog to climb a tree. _

_I've been holed up in this village too long, for me not to want to have a little freedom. Even if it is on a leash, binding seals be damned..._

"Hey Sukasu! Gai sensei says he'll take care of the report so do you want to go get something to eat with us?"

Tenten had been the one to ask; but Lee looked ecstatic at the possibility of her eating with them, and Neji didn't look that unopposed either.

"I'm sorry but I have my own report to file, so I can't. Maybe some other time," Sukasu replied with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, yeah. Okay sure, some other time then." Tenten said looking a little sad that their request had been denied. Lee looked positively crest fallen.

"See you then." Tenten said waving goodbye.

"Yeah bye," Sukasu replied with a wave of her own, before taking off towards Hokage tower.

* * *

"You've been following me for a while now. Weren't you supposed to be eating with Tenten and Lee?"

"I told them I had to use the bathroom."

"Well then this must be a long ass bathroom break. I left you guys nearly ten minutes ago."

Neji remained silent.

"So...what do you want with me?"

"Where do you live?"

"Well that's kind of forward, even for you. Why?"

"Well, I was told that you live outside the village; and I was wondering where. In case I have any questions or need help with my training." _Or to figure out what you've trying to cover up. _

Sukasu sighed. The ache in her back was beginning to bother her, and she really just wanted to report to the Godaime and be on her way. Even if it was Neji asking, she was still slightly peeved.

"Well first off where I live is technically still within the village. And secondly if you want to find me just follow Shikamaru around for a day or two, unnoticed if you can help it."

"Follow Shikamaru? He knows where you live? Hey! Wait!"

But Sukasu was already gone, lost amongst the crowded streets; headed for the Hokage tower.

* * *

Sneak peak chapter 8:

"I guess I should start at the beginning. My earliest memories are shrouded in that inky black thing everyone likes to call darkness."

" I grew up alone locked away in a cell secluded from the rest of my clan. Things like family and friends and love, they were foreign concepts to me."

" It wasn't until I was old enough to understand things that I was told why I was down there."

"The head of my clan, Aojiroi Furawā, made it one of his past times to visit and torment me, often with information. I learned many things that way, including my birthday, but it wasn't until he told me who or rather **what** I was, that I learned information really can hurt."

A/N: Surprise! A sneak peak into chapter 8 so you know I'm not lying to you when I say there really will be backstory. I Know there aren't a lot of Neji Sukasu moments in this chapter but hey! I do what I do. Anyhhueeww chapter 8 is in progress so I don't know when it will be up and I appreciate reviews! Thank you!


	8. Memories of Darkness

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Chapter 8 up! backstory and everything intact. So school's starting for me on Monday and I won't be able to update two or three times a week like I did in the beginning so starting this week I've decided weekly updates on Thursdays *anyone see what I did there? huh? huh?* anyways this is a feels chapter or something along those lines I think, I can't make it as sad as any Naruto flashbacks because I'm writing but I tried. This isn't supposed to be a happy chapter so again, if you have to grab some tissues just in case go get them now. Just so you know this isn't the end of her or the rest of the Hana's backstory it will be revisited...with plot twists so be prepared! *insert evil laugh*

Shout Outs: Shout outs this week are awarded to...**Navieh** and **10987ss** for Reviewing and **Princessyuki08** for following. Thanks guys! I just started doing this so I'm giving shout outs to everyone else too. So thank you to...

**Kira Neami**

**Your Guardian Angel In The Sky**

**Kunoichi1331**

**Shanon Nakayama**

**jazica**

**If I Can Be**

**ciarra halle**

and **KilljoysMakeSomeNoise**

for favorite-ting, reviewing, and following! I appreciate it! ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

Chapter 8:Memories of Darkness

_That_ was cutting it extremely close." were the first words Sukasu heard when she entered the Godaime's office.

"So, I'm back aren't I?"

"...yes, although you could have been back sooner."

"..."

"Did you complete your mission?"

"Of course"

"You didn't leave any evidence did you?"

"Really Tsunade nee-san, there's a reason you only send me on these missions; and before you ask, I did manage to find it."

"And?"

Sukasu held out her hand to reveal the object within, "And?"

* * *

Neji stared at the meat sizzling in front of him. Wondering when it would be best to grab it; and how to avoid Choji nabbing it in the process.

It was Saturday and the guys had decided to get together, catch up and take a much needed break from missions, and just the general trappings of life.

It had been a week since his last mission, a week since he had begun tailing Shikamaru, a week since he had last seen Sukasu. _Not that that really mattered anyway, _Neji thought quickly.

True as soon as she gave the hint on how to find her, he had immediately begun following Shikamaru every chance he got. But it wasn't because he missed her company, or wanted to figure out what the hell she was hiding behind that happy mask of hers. He just wanted help with perfecting his Masahaiken Byakugan; as he had dubbed it that was all.

The sizzle and pop of the meat on the grill alerted him that the meat was ready. Snatching it up with expert speed and earning a death glare from Choji; he ignored him in favor of throwing himself in the current conversation.

"It's so unfair!" Naruto wailed. "I've been gone for three years, she saw how strong I was when we both went to help save Gaara; and Sakura still won't go on a date with me!"

"Maybe if you become a Chunin like the rest of us, she might." Kiba said with a smirk. He never missed a chance to jab at Naruto's genin status.

Neji could see that Naruto was seriously considering that option, and decided to bring him back down to earth. "But he'd have to wait another six months for that, Right Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, and who knows where we'll be then. It's so bothersome, Lady Tsunade always gives me missions like that one, so I'll probably be here, but who knows where you'll be." Shikamaru said looking at Naruto and resting his head on his hand. "In any case I'm stuck in the village until further notice."

"Aren't we all?" Shino spoke up from the corner.

"Yeah, but fe's shtuck 'cuz uf anofer mission, right Shikamaru?"

Choji said through a mouth full of food.

"You are? Man that sucks." Naruto said resting his hands behind his head with his grinning.

"Yeah and speaking of missions I actually have to attend to mine right now so I'll see you guys later okay?"

"Yeah sure but next time you're paying." Kiba said, with a grimace while staring at Choji. "I can feel my wallet burning already."

Shikamaru didn't answer he just sent Kiba a small smirk as he left the bar-b-que.

Neji stayed seated for another couple of minutes before quietly excusing himself from their little gathering.

* * *

After leaving the bar-b-que, he headed a couple of blocks towards the training ground before activating his Byakugan. He found Shikamaru a little ways away in the woods behind training ground 8. Silently he followed after him hoping to whatever being was in the sky that today was his lucky day.

He was so focused on not being caught that he didn't realize he had walked right into Shikamaru's shadow possession until he stopped moving.

"Heh. I figured it was you, Neji, since she wouldn't shut up about you since she got back from her last mission."

Neji deactivated his Byakugan when Shikamaru came into view.

"I'm assuming she told you to follow me; since she's not allowed to say exactly where she lives."

At Neji's slightly confused expression Shikamaru sighed, "I'm guessing she didn't tell you that last part huh? Such a drag; well, what are you waiting for go on in."

"What?"

Shikamaru looked slightly taken aback by his question. "What? What do you mean 'what?' We are talking about her right?" Shikamaru said pointing his thumb over his shoulder at what looked like the rest of the forest. "Man, for a genius you can be really slow sometimes."

Neji opened his mouth to try and save his pride when Shikamaru cut him off.

"Just release the genjutsu. If she's expecting you you should just be able to walk straight through the barrier. Good luck and say 'hi' to her for me." With that Shikamaru left, leaving Neji to comprehend everything he'd just been told.

After taking a minute to collect himself, he did what Shikamaru said; and, walked straight into a field of flowers. At the end of which was a humungous waterfall flowing into a crystalline pool surrounded by the lushest greenest grass he had ever seen. "What. The. Fuck."

"I'll take that as a complement," a female voice said beside him.

Neji turned his head to stare at the one person he'd been searching for all week, standing in the midst of her silver halo right next to him.

Neji opened and closed his mouth several times before finally managing to speak again. "You were right technically you are still in the village."

Sukasu laughed, it was a sound he had only heard once before, and he realized with shock. He had missed it, the sound of water splashing over pebbles in a stream. It was calming, he liked it.

"So I assume you're here because you wanted to train or something along those lines. Am I right?" Sukasu asked, making her way across the field towards the waterfall, a hint of laughter still evident in her voice.

Her question brought Neji back to his initial reason for coming to find her. "Actually," he said following her "I came to ask about you."

Sukasu slowed but didn't stop walking. "To ask about me?"

"Yes. Because last week when we were returning to the village you were acting strange. I just wanted to know what was bothering you."

"So you caught that," Sukasu said softly finally stopping next to the pool. "For someone who doesn't know me all that well you're very attentive. But then I wasn't fooling Gai-sensei either and he's known me for a while." She said with a hint of her earlier smile.

"Hm." Was all Neji said as his eyes expertly followed her every movement. _Shit I wasn't supposed to just come out and ask her, but I guess this makes me an excellent candidate for the interrogation unit if I ever want to take that route._

Sukasu sat down delicately placing her feet in the water so as not to disturb the surface. She wasn't smiling anymore. "Why do you want to know about me? Why are you so curious?"

Neji sat next to her crossing his legs. "To be honest I really don't know. You were the one who suddenly appeared to have an interest in me. Why not me in you?"

Sukasu was quiet as she stared across the pond. She seemed lost in thought for a moment.

Giving her time to think Neji took his time to look around the clearing. It was so...pretty, everything just seemed to flow. It was a place to get lost in thought, and Neji was no exception. So it startled him slightly when she began to speak again.

"Asking something like that..." Sukasu started then shook her head. "Asking out of curiosity like that. The answer I might give; the information might hurt as well as help you."

"Curiosity killed the cat." Neji didn't know what made him say that but it seemed to help lighten the mood a little because Sukasu let out a short chuckle.

"I suppose...you probably have a right to know...about me, all things considered."

Neji stared at her. _What does she mean I have a right to know?_ "So you're going..."

Neji's voice died in his throat.

As he watched Sukasu pulled the strings off the leather padding surrounding her midriff and let it fall to her sides. She then turned so that her back was facing him and pulled off her shirt, sweeping her hair over her shoulder to reveal the hibiscus seal tattoo on her back.

"What's that?"

"If you were wondering why I was acting strange that day this was the reason for it. It's a seal that ties me to the village, and burns when I'm gone for too long. But I suppose you'd want a more detailed explanation." Sukasu said turning her head slightly.

Neji nodded silently.

Sukasu gave a deep sigh before speaking again.

"I guess I should start at the beginning then."

"My earliest memories are shrouded in that inky black thing we call darkness."

"I grew up alone locked away in a cell secluded from the rest of my clan. Things like family and friends and love, they were foreign concepts to me."

"It wasn't until I was old enough to understand things that I was told why I was down there."

"The head of my clan, Aojiroi Furawa, made it one of his past times to visit and torment me, often with information."

"I learned many things that way, including my birthday, but it wasn't until he told me who or rather **what** I was, that I learned information really can hurt."

"Maybe I didn't know it then but...The pain I feel now from what he told me then is as real as any wound I've ever received."

Sukasu sighed again then continued.

"It was a couple months after my third birthday. You may ask how I could grasp what I'm about to tell you at the age I was but when you're alone all the time with only your thoughts you tend to grasp things faster. Or you...never mind."

"Anyway the Heads granddaughter had just turned one so there was this big celebration, of course I didn't learn any of this till later but that's beside the point. I think it was the third day of the week-long celebration and sake was flowing like water; the head of course was looking for some form of entertainment"

"And I just so happened to be that form of entertainment." Sukasu said bitterly.

"The Head tended to be a violent drunk, so I was beaten particularly hard that night. But while I was lying on the floor half-conscious he decided that would be a great time to tell me why I was locked away."

"According to him I was considered a threat from the time I was born because of one of my ancestors."

"Apparently, a previous flower style user betrayed the clan and killed off a very important figure head; and from that point on those who had been revered and praised as the possessors of the flower style, were feared and hated."

"We were considered dangerous and un loyal. So to ease the minds of the other members of the clan; and for the elders to feel they had some semblance of control over us, all of those who possessed the flower style were locked up from birth. After that we were either trained and exploited as expendable ninja in times of war or used as the Hana's own secret weapon if the need ever arose."

"So you were locked up for something one of your ancestors did which really only warranted her punishment?" Neji asked his eyes narrowing in anger. _They locked her up and treated her like dirt from the moment she was born all because of something she had no control over?_

Sukasu nodded her head. "What happens to one must happen to all. If one flower is diseased then the rest must be too, and if not they can be corrupted so it's better to throw them all out than to keep one that may die a quick death, and take others down with it."

"That's bullshit."

Sukasu shrugged "It's the way of the world."

"Still that's just..." Neji trailed off. "And you weren't angry you didn't feel hurt that they would do something like that to you?" Neji asked still angry but genuinely curious.

"For someone that couldn't even begin to grasp the concepts of love, hatred was a relatively easy thing to understand. But it didn't make me angry. No."

"At least not then, anger wasn't something I thought about. It was beyond me; I do remember something of a painful feeling in my chest at the time, but I wasn't bleeding so I dismissed it."

_Liar. You can't just dismiss something like that,_ Neji thought then he changed the topic. "How did they even know that you were a flower style user anyway? you can't use ninjutsu at birth."

Sukasu chuckled darkly. "Well that's easy; all flower styles users have two distinctive qualities."

"Two?"

"All of us are born with silver hair and purple eyes."

"A silver haired purple eyed flower," where the words the Head used I believe. "A caged flower; left to survive on dirty water and a single bowl of rice every three days."

"That's harsh."

Sukasu gave a soft nod. "Harsh is a word you could use I guess, but that was my world. It was just me, the Head, and the cold stone walls and iron bars that made up my cell and most of my earliest memories."

"There was no light in my prison either, save for a hole where a corner stone had broken loose. It wasn't in a spot where the sun hit but the moon would make its appearance known every now and then. Not much for a flower to survive on but it was my only light for a while so I learned to adapt; that is...until Naori came along."

"Naori?" Neji asked raising an eyebrow.

"Naori? Naori was my best friend." Sukasu said leaning back on her hands a gentle smile on her face.

_For someone that couldn't grasp what love was_ _that smile says something entirely different,_ Neji thought, then _why the past tense?_

"Was?" He asked.

Sukasu smile fell for the second time that day. "Yes, was." She said softly, "She died."

Neji gave her a look of silent understanding. "She was a Hana?"

"Yes," Sukasu answered. "But the reason you're thinking is not the reason why she died."

"It's not? Well how did she die? Was she sick?" Neji asked, trying to think of a reason why such a young girl would die that wasn't associated with the disappearance of the Hana.

"The reason she died... It was because of me." Sukasu said slowly.

"Actually," she paused as if contemplating her next thought. "The whole thing was me really; her death, and the disappearance of my clan."

"What?" Neji's throat went dry so the question came out rather hoarse, but the shock was still there.

Again Sukasu nodded.

"Naori was my best friend. She found me by accident during a game of hide-n-seek with some of the other kids."

"When she found me I was a shell. The head had begun training me as his weapon; Inside the confines of my prison though, I wasn't allowed outside."

"The training he put me through was brutal. It was designed to void me of all emotion, anything I'd felt that I told you about previously was gone. My three year old self was considered naïve and weak by the person he was making me into."

"Emotions, loneliness, sadness they didn't matter; crying and tears didn't happen. I was turning into a mindless killing machine. I took orders and didn't question them or the punishment was more severe than any beating the Head had ever given me."

"How old were you?"

"Five."

Neji sucked in a breath. "That's insane."

"Maybe to you but I was considered a weapon remember?"

Neji nodded solemnly. "So how does Naori figure into this?"

"Naori became my light."

* * *

"_Well, in that case Su-chan? Would you mind if I showed you the light?"_

* * *

"Your light?"

"I said before, I was raised in the darkness, no family, no friends, no light, no love. Once Naori learned that she wanted to change that for me. She wanted to become my light and then to help find my family to make sure I was loved and cared for."

"It was a foolish child's dream; and she died because of it."

"A foolish child's...Are you mad that she wanted to help you?" Neji asked his temper flaring even higher than it already was. "Are you scorning the fact even a five year old could see all the wrong in your life and did their best to help you?"

"No," Sukasu said moving her head back and forth. "No, I know she did her best and I'm grateful to her for that it's just..."

With shock Neji realized that Sukasu was crying, actually crying. The crystalline droplets streamed silently down her face, he doubted she even realized they were there as she made no attempt to wipe them away.

"It's just...she didn't have to, she was all I needed. She tried so hard to show me the light but she never realized that she was my light. That's why I called it foolish; there was no reason, no need, for her to do what she did."

"She made me stronger, I thrived in her presence. She made me laugh, she made me smile; and I began to care, I began to care for her, she became like my sister. I had no need for family if she was there. She was my family."

"The darkness became shadows. I was no longer the Hana's caged flower with dull petals and wilted leaves. I grew and flourished; and then in an instant all that light was taken away from me. It all disappeared. Everything, all because she knew me."

* * *

_"You see what happens to those who disobey me! She's dead now DEAD! And all because of you."_

* * *

Sukasu was crying really crying now the tears flowed freely down her face. But she didn't reach out for comfort; she merely sat with her feet in the water staring up at the sky.

"How did she die?" Neji asked softly, he didn't wish to provoke more tears from her but he knew about the pain of losing a loved one and talking about it helped.

"Her family beat her to death."

If there was anything Neji had been expecting it wasn't that. He wanted to ask why but her couldn't seem to find the words he just sat there in shock.

"They beat her under orders from the head. I don't know if they wanted to do it but they were ordered to and they sure as hell didn't go easy on her."

* * *

_She's dead. She's dead. They killed her. Her own family. Her mother her father her brother, they killed her. How could they? She was their daughter, their own child…_

* * *

"I was tied down to a chair and made to watch the whole thing. It was the first time I had ever been outside but it wasn't a happy memory."

"They made you watch?" Neji's blood boiled. He had begun to calm down because of Sukasu's tears and his sympathy towards Naori but this this was just too much. "What type of clan...does something like that?"

"Not the clan, the head, if anything I'd say the head was crazy."

"He was insane."

"But he was the head and orders are orders as they say." Sukasu was surprisingly calm.

"That was their child."

"I know. That's the whole reason my clan doesn't exist anymore."

That comment gave Neji pause.

"It is?"

Sukasu nodded. "For someone so lovable and who loved unconditionally to be killed by her own family. It's too cruel. She didn't deserve to die and all of that punishment for just knowing of my existence. Even my five year old brain which had been through so much by that point. Knew that was wrong completely and utterly wrong."

"And for someone who in all those years of pain and torture and neglect had never gone insane. Although I was surely being driven down that path. I snapped and everything after that is a blur."

"But if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that I killed my clan. Every single last one of them, man, woman, and child. I destroyed them. Because to me in that moment they didn't deserve to live."

* * *

_Killed…they killed…she didn't deserve…didn't deserve…they…killed…deserve…died…they…didn't deserve…they didn't deserve…didn't deserve to… kill…they…died…they didn't deserve to…__**LIVE.**_

* * *

A shadow fell over Sukasu's face and for the first time Neji saw the neglected emotionless child that the Head had created. It showed in her eyes, the craziness she had endured and lived through, never once questioning if there was a better life than the one she lived. Until one girl broke her whole foundation and rebuilt it, only to be killed by the very thing she was trying to find for Sukasu; A loving family. It was almost like one big cruel joke. It left a bitter taste in Neji's mouth.

"Do...did the Hokage know? That you killed them?"

Sukasu slowly moved her head back and forth. "No, although he probably suspected as much. I mean I was the only survivor in a clan that disappeared without a trace. There's not many options as to who did it."

"It was mainly the how since there were obviously no weapons used and no signs of confrontation. Their deaths were almost instantaneous, barely any time to scream."

"How did you kill them?"

Sukasu narrowed her eyes to look in Neji's direction. "I just gave you a hint," she said avoiding the question."

"What hint?"

'_In a clan that disappeared without a trace... Their deaths were almost instantaneous, barely any time to scream.'_

Neji's eyes widened as he processes what she had said. "You absorbed them? Their life force I mean." He corrected himself.

Again Sukasu nodded. "I didn't know what I was doing I was just so angry. I had never been angry before so I didn't know how to control it, to get rid of it, and before I knew it every single member of my clan had been absorbed and added to my life essence."

"They all reside inside me now. So I guess in a way they didn't really die they simply live inside me now."

_That's a sickening thought. _"And Naori what about her?"

In answer to his question, Sukasu turned her head to look behind her. "Naori is right there."

Neji turned to look at the field of flowers that he had come across when he first entered. "The flowers?" He asked confused as to what he should be looking at.

Sukasu smiled again. "Yes, originally she was absorbed with everyone else; however, she kept a special place close to my heart."

"I felt bad afterwards about having her there along with everyone else; so when I was given this place as my home I set her free and she created these flowers."

"They're irises," Neji said amazed recognizing the flower.

"Yes and they don't wilt they're here all year round even in the hottest months."

"Even in death she's still trying to give you some light isn't she?" Neji said more to himself than to Sukasu.

"Yeah" Sukasu responded quietly. "But even with all the light in the world I haven't left my cage. I was just moved to a bigger one; which brings us back to your original question."

Neji nodded. "I asked what was bothering you and you showed me your seal and said it bound you to the village which led to that," Neji waved a hand indicating their previous conversation.

"So besides telling me how you grew up what does that have to do with the seal?" Neji asked back on track now that they were done talking about her early childhood.

"That" Sukasu said imitating Neji's hand motion "was the whole reason I have this seal in the first place."

"It is? but I thought no one knew that you..." Neji paused searching for the right word "...got rid of your clan."

Sukasu sighed. "Really I would have thought you'd be able to grasp this." She said.

_Well she's back to her old self,_ Neji thought with a hint of sarcasm.

"I absorbed the life force of my clan," she continued. "That means their chakra too...so a five year old with enough chakra to match an entire clan's?" Sukasu said looking in Neji's direction and raising an eyebrow.

"You were too powerful for them to handle." Neji finished.

"Exactly and as a flower style user that had been hidden from the rest of the village for her entire life. Well, the council and Lord Third couldn't exactly come out and say 'hey Konoha we have a five year old that has a rare kekkei genkai and could kill all of you in five seconds here that's been neglected her entire life please make her feel welcome.' No. They had to take precautions." Sukasu said rolling her eyes.

"And those precautions came in the form of that seal?" Neji asked pointing out the obvious.

"Yep, not only does it bind me to the village but it controls my level and intake of chakra; but that's only part of it."

"The other part," Sukasu said waving her hand around. "Is this."

"This?"

"Where I live. I'm secluded from the rest of the village and surrounded by barriers and genjutsu. No one can find me unless they know how to get here; and I can't tell anyone where I live, that's a part of the seal as well. It keeps potential enemies away, at least that's what they say."

"Really it just keeps me in. Not many people in the village know about me and I don't have many friends; and since I'm only allowed out on missions which are for a set amount of time and if I don't return the seal makes sure to 'remind' me," Sukasu made quotes in the air with her fingers.

"I have no choice but to stay in here really."

"It's just like having a bigger cage." Sukasu ended.

Neji nodded he could see why she'd be bothered by that, but for it to affect her that badly..."but that's not all that was bothering you was it?" Neji blurted out the question.

Sukasu froze. "What do you mean?" She asked slowly.

"I can see why that would annoy and bother you but that's something that's been going on for years. What happened last week seemed...different."

Sukasu stared at him a moment before saying. "No, not really it's all connected anyhow." Her head dropped to look at her feet in the water.

"What happened?" Neji asked his concern showing through on his face.

"For the first time in a long time...I dreamt about Naori."

Neji sucked in a breath. That would have been what was bothering her. From what she had told him about Naori it was obvious. _So that morning...she had been willing herself not to cry. _

"It didn't help" Sukasu continued "that I had overused my time and my seal was beginning to burn. It just reminded me...of everything I've been trying to forget."

"I can see trying to forget the cages, and training, and neglect, but Naori?" Neji asked her.

Sukasu seemed to hunch over clutching her hand to her chest. "It's all painful" she said trying to explain. "I want to forget, but I can't, because I don't want to forget her. But everything..." she trailed off.

Neji felt something in his chest clench; he had made her upset again. He hated to see her upset; it didn't suit her, she was supposed to be picky, and annoying, and overconfident, and occasionally serious, but to see her broken like this and before. It hurt. She was supposed to smile not cry.

Neji slowly reached out a hand wanting to comfort her but not knowing exactly how.

Retracting his hand he waited for her to calm down. As he waited he thought and as he thought he grew more and more pissed.

She didn't deserve what she had been given. What her clan did to her and all the other people who possessed the flower style was unforgivable. It was worse than the Hyuuga's caged bird seal. At least theirs was meant to protect and serve the head family and the intentions were for good. But to lock innocent people behind bars and use them as tools.

Neji shook his head back and forth trying to calm down. _There must have been a better reason for all of this__, _he thought. _For something that cruel to happen to so many people. For Naori to just be killed like that; just for knowing Sukasu. There must be more to it than what she just told me; there has to be. _

_I'll find it__,_ he thought suddenly. _I'll figure out what it was that really happened and then..._Neji looked towards the broken girl in front of him. _I'll set her free_.

A/N: Awwwww! Soo does anyone need tissues? tissues? tissues? here you go, I have plenty on hand for everyone. Has everyone finished blowing their nose and wiping their tears? yes? okay now that you're done riding the feels train can I get some claps for Neji please? I think he deserves some claps he didn't do much comforting but that last thought...priceless. Take a picture and put it up next to Neji's serious face to get the full effect. have you done it? yes? good? now save it forever and ever to look at when your backed into a corner. The tears will keep the bad guys away I guarantee it. Okay enough rambling...So I think this was a good chapter do you? I won't know unless you review! Thanks!

P.s. Next chapter is a lemon.


	9. Fulfilled Desires

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Chapter 9! Five minutes before midnight, oh well it's still Thursday. It's been a long week, with school and all that, first day back was Monday and they just piled on the work, I almost didn't get this chapter done because of it! anyway you know that warning up there? in bold letters? yeah that one, you might wanna read it, just saying...for this chapter...really. ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: Shout outs this week are awarded to...**10987ss** for Reviewing and **WMaldonando89** for favorite-ting and following and to** Wynterfox89, YNoThinkBrain **and **shotasayswhat** for following. Thanks guys!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

Chapter 9: Fulfilled Desires

"I'm sorry about earlier," Sukasu said, setting a cup of green tea in front of Neji.

They were currently sitting at the kitchen table in her house; which was surprisingly located behind the waterfall within the clearing.

"Its fine no one should have to go through something like that. It's understandable that you would cry," Neji replied.

"No." Sukasu shook her head, "Shinobi rule number 25 you must never show your tears; and I broke that rule, exponentially. Besides do you see any other shinobi getting that emotional over some hardship in their lives? No." Sukasu answered her own question.

"But their life isn't yours," Neji said opting for trying to sound soothing instead of brushing it off like no big deal, he wasn't sure how she would react to that.

"It's still embarrassing," Sukasu said grabbing her own cup of tea and sitting down across from him. "I mean would _you_ cry?"

"I...yes?"

"No you wouldn't," Sukasu said, looking him dead in the eye.

Neji closed his eyes and sighed. He really wanted to be done with this topic, for her sake and his own; besides he had just managed to calm down too.

Sukasu watched Neji from across the table. She could tell he didn't really want to talk but she was nervous. It wasn't every day that she had someone her own age in her house, sitting at her table, having tea. _It doesn't help that he's handsome either_. Sukasu thought with a frown.

Looking around the room she searched for something to talk about. She smiled when her eyes lighted upon one of her fans sitting on a side table towards the back of the room.

"Neji," Sukasu said, slowly, thoughtfully.

"Hm," Neji responded still keeping his eyes closed.

"Would you like to train with me? Here?"

"What?" Neji asked slowly, finally opening his eyes, only to peg her with a piercing stare.

Thinking he was somehow upset by her request Sukasu quickly added. "Not every day of course 'cuz you have missions and stuff but just every now and then, to keep me company? Please?" She added, just in case.

Neji continued to stare at her before he got up and slowly circled the table making his way towards her never breaking eye contact. His pale lavender eyes seemed to stare straight threw her, almost like they were seeing into her, it made her feel vulnerable.

As he came closer Sukasu began to shrink back into her chair uncomfortably before thinking better of it and straightening up.

Neji finished his trek around the table and came to a stop in front of her. Sukasu finally couldn't take it anymore and broke eye contact; staring down at the floor she waited.

Then Neji did something strange. He bent down to cup her chin in his hands forcing her to look up at him. He offered her a small smile before saying "didn't I ask where you lived so we could train? I wasn't lying about that you know."

He removed his hand from her chin and flicked her forehead lightly before straightening. "Of course, Baka, no need to act so worried about it, you looked like you thought I was going to hurt you or something."

Sukasu blinked. _Was he? He was teasing me? Neji? _Her face colored in indignation. Before she stood up. Knocking the chair over in the process. "Worried? How could I _not_ be worried? You kept staring at me and wouldn't say anything; At least blink or look away or something!" Sukasu shot of.

"Besides," she folded her arms and leaned back on her heels. "It's not like I'd remember something like that, anyways," She said with a pout.

"Really? You remembered fine when I arrived 2 hours ago." Neji smirked

"That was 2 hours ago!" Sukasu said her voice rising, "it's not like I'd remember after all that other stuff! Damn it!" Sukasu threw her hands in the air before turning and walking away. "I need to be left alone!"

She didn't get very far before she felt a warm hand grasp her arm and pull her backwards into an even warmer chest. She resisted slightly, before feeling the grip on her arm tighten to hold her in place.

"Stop moving," Neji said softly, he didn't sound angry.

Sukasu stilled. Waiting.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. That wasn't my intent."

Sukasu opened her mouth to retort. But closed it again when she felt something hard settle on top of her head.

"To be honest." He continued. "I'm happy that you're mad at me. It beats seeing you cry." Neji didn't know where he was going with this but his mouth kept moving and his mind didn't stop it.

"But you of all people, even when you're angry should never be left alone."

"I wasn't angry." Sukasu finally managed to whisper. "And you apologize too much."

She felt his chest vibrate against her back as he gave a low chuckle.

"Would you believe I've never apologized so much in my life to any one person?"

"I can believe it," Sukasu said relaxing into his hold. It struck her how close they were; his chest pressed to her back. It was warm and comforting and surprisingly, it felt safe.

Her whole life she felt like there was a shadow looming over her threatening to consume her, but with him it seemed to just disappear.

_"One day that shadow you feel will disappear, all because of one person."_

_Is this what you meant Hizashi-sama?_

She didn't know how long they stood there before she pulled away. The loss of warmth made her shiver but she knew it was getting late and he would probably want to go home.

The missing weight of Sukasu's body jolted Neji out of his thoughts. He blinked once before realizing she had moved forward; away from him. She was still turned so that her back was facing him, reminding him of his thoughts from earlier.

He didn't like it when she walked away from him. He shook his head. That sounded like something an overly protective boyfriend would say, and he was nowhere close to that.

Even still when he thought of her at all he felt a strange sense of protectiveness towards her. Among other things...his thoughts began drifting down a forbidden path. _Dammit every time_ Neji cursed inwardly..._every time I always end up thinking about that_.

He tried to think of other things so he didn't end up doing something stupid. Things like...a stray lock of hair tickled His cheek...hair! Her hair is nice and whatever shampoo she used smelled good.

When he had placed his chin atop her head the scent of her shampoo had hit him. It was a familiar inviting scent. It was sweet but not overpowering like some others.

And her hair was soft-so was her skin for that matter, and her lips, and her… his mouth quirked. But he already knew that. I wonder if...Neji's eyes flickered downwards towards Sukasu's legs.

"It's late," Sukasu said.

"Yeah," Neji replied faking that he didn't hear what she was implying.

"Your household will get worried if you don't come home soon won't they?" Sukasu asked trying a different approach, to get him to leave.

She really didn't want him to leave though. The intimacy of their earlier positions, the warmth, it had stirred something inside her. Something that felt oddly close to the feeling she had when they were training in the woods. It worried her.

Little did she know Neji's thoughts were bringing him dangerously close to continuing that training.

Sukasu shifted and absentmindedly began rubbing her lower leg with her foot in her nervousness. Neji felt something twist in the pit of his stomach.

"So...?" Sukasu let the question hang as the minutes ticked by.

Neji's patience was wearing thin. She was telling him-in a roundabout way-that he should leave. But she wasn't being forceful about it which told him she didn't really want him to. _Why doesn't she just come out and say it?_ He thought looking at the back of her head.

Neji's eyes focused on her legs again. _She's nervous obviously_. Neji sighed inwardly, and propelled himself forward. _I guess she needs to know I don't plan on leaving just yet. I don't want to leave her alone just yet._

Sukasu jumped when she felt Neji's hand on her shoulder. "Wha..?"

"Why don't you just say you don't want me to leave?" Neji asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sukasu said shifting once more.

"Yes, you do," Neji responded. Before crushing her against the wall. Sukasu made a surprised sound somewhere between a shriek and a whimper before being cut off by Neji's lips on hers.

Neji's patience was gone, that last comment had set him over the edge; he didn't think about what he did next.

At first she resisted. But that feeling from before began to overwhelm her and she weakened.

Neji's kiss became gentler as she relaxed, before he released her. Panting slightly he touched their foreheads together. "Say it."

"Huh?" Sukasu's eyes were glazed over and her cheeks were red.

"Say it." Neji repeated.

"Stay with me...please?"

"Of course."

* * *

Neji bent down to capture her lips once more. This kiss was different from the others, it was softer, sweeter. The kiss continued like that for a few minutes before becoming more passionate. Tilting his head for a better angle Neji began to tug on her lower lip with his teeth, Sukasu hungrily responded to his ministrations in kind.

She nipped his lower lip her tongue tracing over it playfully. Neji growled, the low animalistic sound, excited her and she moaned in response. Tangling her fingers in his hair she pulled him closer deepening the kiss.

His tongue prodded at her lips. She parted them willingly. Drawing him in, this time she fought for dominance, after a long battle of tongues Neji, giving up, left her mouth to trail searing kisses down her neck.

Sukasu threw her head back a loud moan left her as Neji's hand found her breast and squeezed. His other hand slid down her side before palming her ass. Spreading his fingers his hand continued down to her thigh, giving it a light tug.

Sukasu immediately complied lifting her leg and hooking it around his waist. The heat between her legs was beginning to become uncomfortable and she impatiently tugged at him.

Neji detached his lips from her neck to cock an eyebrow at her.

"Bedroom, down the hall to the left." Sukasu panted out quickly.

Neji felt his member grow in excitement at her words. Quickly unhooking her leg from his waist, he bent and captured her legs under one arm placing the other around her back. Sukasu placed one arm around his neck. Not wanting to stop what they were doing she brought his head closer to her to capture his lips once more.

Once they were down the hall, Sukasu quickly kicked open the door with her foot before shifting out of Neji's grip.

Neji barely had time to register that he was in a girls room other than his cousin's or team mates before he was pulled down on to the bed.

Sukasu straddled his hips, feeling slightly mischievous she returned his attentions to her face and neck while running her hands over his shirt.

"This needs to come off," She muttered under her breath struggling with the buttons.

Neji chuckled. "Having trouble?"

"Shut up." Sukasu ground out placing her lips over his once again.

She made a small sound of triumph, when she managed to unhook the last button. Not wanting her to end her attentions to his mouth. Neji lifted slightly off the bed to shrug out of his shirt. Throwing it to the side it made a muffled thudding noise on the floor where it was left, forgotten.

Neji's hands began roaming Sukasu's legs and waist again, before getting annoyed with the rougher fabric of her shirt disrupting his path. Not wanting to give her another ripped piece of clothing he carefully tugged it over her head hating the fact that they had to separate this time.

Sukasu finally figured out what she wanted as the heat pooled between her legs made itself known again, she wanted him. Slowly in response to her desires she began rocking her hips back and forth across his pelvis.

Neji groaned lifting his hips slightly of the bed grinding back into her. Feeling his erection press into her crotch Sukasu felt her lips turn up into smirk.

Getting slightly annoyed with her teasing Neji quickly lifted her off his hips and flipped her on to her back. Holding her waist he kept her from moving, as he first licked one breast then the other.

Sukasu gasped as the heat from his tongue contrasted with the coolness of the air around them. Sweat beaded over their skin as Neji continued his ministrations. Only leaving, to place kisses down her midsection and over her belly button before coming back up.

Keeping one hand on her waist he slid the other down between her legs. Slowly trailing his fingers closer to her core he smiled when he felt the sticky wetness there. Releasing her breasts he slid down the rest of her body until he was positioned perfectly over top of her center.

Sukasu shifted rubbing her legs together and trapping his hand between them. Neji groan slightly, his member throbbing. "Sukasu," he said slowly looking up at her threw sweat covered bangs.

At her name Sukasu parted her thighs allowing Neji to continue his path. Reaching his destination he began to rub her threw her already soaked panties.

Another moan escaped Sukasu as she pushed herself downwards onto his fingers. Whimpering when he pulled away, she lifted herself up on her elbows to look at him.

Ignoring her, he lifted his hands to trace the band of her skirt slowly before yanking it; and her panties down in one fluid motion. Discarding the clothing on the side of the bed, Neji regarded the beauty before him.

Spread out before him was a masterpiece. Her folds were slick with her juices and begging to be touched and attended to. Neji reached out a hand but ended up placing it on her thigh as Sukasu instinctively began to close her legs again.

"Don't," he said softly looking up at her. There was a blush spreading across her face, as she tried to avoid his eyes.

"It's embarrassing." She stated her voice barely above a whisper.

"It shouldn't be. You're beautiful."

Sukasu eyes widened in surprise and she looked at him. "That was the first compliment you've ever really given me."

Neji looked away his eyelashes brushing against her inner thigh. "Only one of many," he said so low she could barely hear him, before he moved to capture her gaze once more.

Making sure she was watching Neji slid his hand back up her thigh; using one to keep them spread, the other began to trace her folds.

Sukasu threw her head back and mewled in pleasure. A wanton moan escaped her lips when Neji's thumb found her clit and began to rub it. Slow circles using the pad of his thumb for more friction. She felt the heat that had pooled inside her condense into a coil that wound tighter and tighter, the longer Neji kept up his little tracing game. When it had wound so tight to the point where it was almost painful she began to squirm hoping he'd notice her discomfort and give her release.

Sukasu made a disapproving noise when he didn't seem to notice her frustrations and shifted her hips to try and force his fingers inside her. Neji removed his hand, and Sukasu groaned at the loss of contact.

"Not yet, be patient."

"Patience isn't exactly one of my strong points you know," Sukasu responded back staring down her body to look at him. Her eyes said she was both annoyed and pleased that he had decided to take things slow.

"I suppose that's true," Neji said continuing to rub his finger over her pleading entrance.

Neji held her gaze for a long moment before plunging his finger inside her. She exploded. Her juices coating both his finger and hand as she arched her back off the bed and cried out at the intense pleasure. Coming down off her high, she noticed Neji looking up at her with a smirk. Too dazed to even be upset with him at this point she just asked "what?"

"Nothing," he replied before placing his head in-between her legs to lick up her juices. The feel of his tongue on her mound and the slow in and out motions of his finger almost caused her to have another orgasm. Neji deftly licked up her sweet nectar before joining his finger inside her.

There was something about seeing Neji's head in-between her thighs that Sukasu found extremely sensual, Sukasu felt that heat begin to build up again, she couldn't wait much longer.

His member was throbbing almost painfully between his legs, but he tried to ignore it. He wanted to focus on giving Sukasu pleasure, but he knew he couldn't take much more, and apparently she couldn't either. Growing tired of just licking her and feeling slightly jealous of the action his fingers were getting. Neji removed his hands and sat up.

Knowing she was watching he placed his finger inside his mouth and licked. Before climbing of the bed. Quickly getting rid of his apron and untying his pants he let them drop to the floor before joining Sukasu. Climbing over her he positioned himself at her entrance, placing his hands on either side of her head. His hair, which had come loose from its ponytail a long time ago, created a curtain around them hiding their faces from view.

He paused before he entered her. "Are you sure about this?" He asked, wondering if this is what she really wanted.

"Of course," Sukasu repeated Neji's earlier words back to him, placing her arms around his neck, with a tiny smile.

Neji looked down at the silver haired woman beneath him, there was so much sincerity and determination in her purple orbs that he wondered why he'd even asked.

Placing all his weight on his arms so he didn't crush her, he entered slowly. Sukasu's arms tightened around his neck when he broke through her barrier, but she didn't say a word as he sheathed himself fully inside her. Knowing she was probably hurting Neji waited until Sukasu was ready before continuing. Sliding back out till only the tip was still lodged inside, Neji looked down at her.

Ready? He asked voice barely above a whisper.

Sukasu nodded her head.

Ducking down Neji kissed her as he dove back inside her Sukasu let out a cry as he set the pace, a slow in and out motion.

After a while Sukasu got bored with the slow pace and wiggled her hip underneath him. "Faster."

Neji obliged and picked up the pace, Sukasu moaned in pleasure, the coil in the pit of her stomach wound tighter. Knowing she was close to her release Sukasu began to push herself into Neji, to go faster. Hips met hips as she tried to find her release.

Knowing she was close to the edge, Neji moved one hand to her breasts and began to rub. His thumb circled her areola, and he pinched her hardened nipple.

Sukasu saw white, her orgasm more intense than the one before, she arched into Neji as she came. Gripping him tightly she rode the waves of pleasure, as he continued to pound into her. Grunting as her walls tightened around him he gave one last push before releasing inside her.

Falling back onto the bed they both lay there, catching their breath. Placing his head in the crease between her shoulder and neck Neji closed his eyes for a second, Sukasu's arms loosened from around his neck, as she relaxed.

"Hey, Neji?" She whispered quietly.

"Hm"

"Thank you."

A/N: Ahem! so...SURPRISE!, yeah this was kind of a spur of the moment thing so don't get mad at me for not warning you I didn't even know this was going to happen. Chapter 9 was supposed to be something entirely different but...yeah this happened so tell me what you think, I know it was a kind of short chapter but it was packed with...ahem...stuff. Anyways... See you next week and please review!


	10. Nightmare

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Whoo! Two hours earlier than last week, all thanks to less homework and more sleep, which reminds me I wanted to apologized for last week. Sleep depravity makes you do some strange things sometimes. Anyway this week is a short chapter thanks to my plot bunnies going crazy on me, and my need to just rest a little. Okay enough of that. ONWARDS!

P.S. My friend sent me this funny thread off of Tumblr that had to do with fanfic's if anyone wants to read it I have the link posted in my profile, if you're in need of a laugh you should read it. *chuckles*

Shout Outs: Shout outs this week are awarded to...**10987ss** for Reviewing, to **leahkc. 16 **for favorite-ting and following, to** Li JiWei **for following, and **Lee Ami **for favorite-ting. Thanks guys!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 10**

_Drip drip drip...plunk_

Sukasu opened her eyes; it was dark, too dark to see anything.

_Drip drip drip...plunk_

_What?_ She sat up, _what is that?_

_Drip drip..._

Standing slowly she made her way towards the sound, the smell of copper wafted through the air.

_Drip..._

She lifted her nose to the air. _That smells like..._ Taking another step forward she felt her foot sink downwards into something wet. _Huh?_

Looking down Sukasu sensed movement. _Water?_ No, it felt heavier than water; and sort of sticky.

_Plunk. _

Bending down and scooping her hand through the unknown liquid, she brought it back to the surface. The sticky liquid slid through her fingers and the copper smell became more pronounced. Something tingled in the back of her mind, she knew what it was, she had felt it before.

_Blood. _

_Blood? Why is there blood here?_ Sukasu took a hurried step backwards; and slipped.

"Splash."

Sukasu was covered in it, it surrounded her. The sticky red liquid dripped from the ends of her hair and ran rivets down her legs.

_What the? But it was just dry a second ago. How did? _

_It's spreading._ The answer to her unfinished question whispered through her mind, seeming to come from somewhere else. But she was alone.

_Drip drip… plunk _

Sukasu stood, the noise reminding her of her earlier task. Her eyes had slowly adjusted to the darkness, allowing her to see. Looking around Sukasu found a place where the darkness seemed to fade away and become lighter.

She slowly made her way towards it, knowing instinctively that that was where the noise was coming from.

_Drip drip… plunk_

Sukasu sank lower the river of blood having reached above her knees, forcing her to wade. _Almost there._

_Drip drip_

Sukasu stood. No words left her lips, no thoughts came to her.

_Plunk. _

She wanted to scream. She opened her mouth but no sound came. She wanted to move, to run, run far away; but her feet stayed rooted to the spot. They were here all of them, every last one.

She managed to take one step backwards, but no more, a wall had appeared behind her trapping her and locking her in.

_Drip._

Sukasu looked down in horror; the blood had risen almost to her neck. She wondered briefly why she hadn't noticed its level until now; but the thought soon left her, as the stench of copper overpowered her.

It came up through her nose and seeped into her mouth. It wrapped around her, suffocating her; it was as thick and unyielding as the wall behind her. It forced her under.

_Drip. _

She struggled against it but it was no use she was drowning, drowning in their blood, and there was nothing she could do about it.

_Plunk._

* * *

Sukasu opened her eyes to the darkened room and sat up. Her body was covered in sweat and her breathing came in short gasps as she tried to force cool air into her lungs.

Placing one hand on her chest to calm herself, Sukasu managed to slow her breathing.

"What the fuck?"

The three whispered words managed to stir the person next to her. Looking out the corner of her eyes, she watched, as he rolled over onto his back, his hair fanning out around him. Sukasu felt the muscles in her face relax into a tiny smile; he always seemed more at peace when he slept. Watching him for a bit longer, Sukasu made to get up.

Her internal clock was telling her it was early morning; and as much as she would have liked to lie back down and snooze a bit more, especially in light of having not slept that well to begin with, being covered in sweat was not ideal.

Carefully slipping silently out the bed, so as not to wake her sleeping partner, Sukasu moved to the center of the room. Stretching lightly Sukasu winced at the slight pain between her legs, before heading towards the bathroom.

* * *

There weren't many things that she had managed to fool herself into thinking were perks of living away from the rest of her village, but over the years her bathroom had become one of them.

The reason, her bathroom housed her own personal hot spring. If anything, being able to avoid the slightly perverse bathing crowds of Konoha was a perk, at least that's what she kept telling herself.

Sukasu sighed as she slid into the warm water feeling her muscles relax. Soaking by herself, with nothing to distract her, had caused her thoughts to become a little depressing.

Lifting a hand Sukasu watched as the displaced water trickled through her fingers till it became a steady drip. The sound reminding her of her nightmare.

Placing her hand back in the water she looked up. "Why? Why now?" She asked to the ceiling. Closing her eyes she slipped further into the water. "Probably from bringing up all those old memories yesterday." _I should just stop thinking about it then._

Shaking her head vigorously she quickly erased the thought. "I'm being foolish. The only way to overcome fear is to face it head on." Nodding to herself she stood and grabbed a towel off a bench, drying off; she wrapped the towel around herself before returning to her room.

Her room was dark. Not that she'd expected anything different, but she was surprised that Neji was still asleep; however, she sensed it was still early morning, so she opted not to wake him.

She dressed slowly, wondering what she should do while she waited. Wandering into the kitchen she stared idly at the stove debating whether or not to cook breakfast. Unable to decide on whether she wanted pancakes or french toast, she decided to put breakfast on hold and just ask Neji what he wanted when he woke up.

Grabbing a glass and pouring herself some orange juice she leaned up against the counter letting her eyes roam. "What to do? what to do?" she repeated like a mantra under her breath. "I'm not usually so indecisive."

Her eyes lighted upon her fan, still on the counter. "I suppose, training is better than nothing." She lifted her gaze to the direction of the waterfall; her makeshift entrance to her home. She could hear the water drumming against the rock face and into the pool below from as far back as she was in her kitchen.

Yes, I guess I could work on that. It's not like I have anything planned for the day anyway." She spoke to the room at large.

Placing her glass in the sink and grabbing the fan, she searched for its counterpart. Finding it hanging on the wall; where it was supposed to be, she took it down and went to face the light of day.

* * *

The sun was just coming over the horizon when she arrived outside. "I guess it was earlier than I first thought."

She flicked her hands, silently opening her fans, as she walked across the pool. Channeling her chakra through her finger tips, she let it encase her fans, sharpening them. Running forwards, she released the flow of chakra and sent her hands in a wide arc.

The chakra was sent back from the force; flying off her fans, and slicing in a perfect x through the water behind her. The water came up in curved arcs on either side of her, spraying her with tiny droplets of water, as it fell back into the pool.

_Perfect. _

Sukasu did this a few more times, before trying something new. After doing what she did the first time; when she felt the aftershock of the blow, she sent a burst of chakra through her fingertips back with it.

The chakra rebounded and hit her instead, with the same force that she sent it out with. The collision sent her flying into the air, before forcefully sending her back to the ground below.

She landed on her side in the middle of her field. letting out a short "ow," she rolled onto her back letting loose a string of curses even a sailor would be appalled at.

"That looked like it hurt."

Sukasu lifted her head from the ground, to see Neji leaning nonchalantly against a tree a couple of yards away from where she was laying. She glared at him.

"How long have you been there?"

"I got out here just in time to see you make that wonderful landing, and hear your beautiful speech afterwards."

"Oh, so you have a sense of humor now?" Sukasu asked him sarcastically, while standing up and dusting herself off.

"No." Was Neji's short reply. Then, "what were you doing anyway?"

Sukasu sighed, bending down to pick up her discarded fans. "I was trying to perfect a new jutsu...but as you can see it hasn't been going very well."

Neji cocked an eyebrow. "Obviously. What are you trying to do?"

"Basically, just strengthen a technique I already have."

"By sending yourself flying 20 feet in the air?"

"No..." She was about to continue when her stomach rumbled. "But, we can continue this conversation inside over breakfast."

Without giving him a chance to reply she was off towards her house, and food.

Neji watched her for a minute before pushing himself off the tree and following her. "Inside then."

They were half way back before Sukasu stopped to ask "Pancakes or french toast?"

"Waffles."

Sukasu gave Neji a look, and he just smirked at her, finally she smiled.

"Waffles it is then."

A/N: So any idea who "they" is in Sukasu's dream? Two roses and a cookie of your choosing to anyone who gets it. Also next chapter will be way longer, just saying, as always, Thank you! and Please review!


	11. New Friends?

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: yyyaaayyy chapter 11! it's here! says the imaginary people in my head, but really, yes, it's here and it's longer than last week just like I promised, not as long as I wanted it to be though, I had to cut it short in order to update on time but, I think you'll like this chapter I brought in more characters, yay! and there's some new jutsu, double yay! it's just a week of yays for me; and the thing is I don't even know why I'm excited, it just happened. not much when on this week and there's nothing really important to say besides a thank you to those two who reviewed and gave me their thoughts on who they thought "they" was in the last chapter. Cookies and roses people, cookies and roses. If you want to know the answers just go to my reviews, *shouldn't be that hard to find* but if it is its the two latest reviews on there, 10987ss and WMaldonado89, anyways, ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: Shout outs this week are awarded to...**10987ss** and **WMaldonado89** for Reviewing, to **aan061 **for favorite-ting and following, and to** tavitaalvarez33 **for following. Thanks guys!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 11**

"So?" Neji asked, leaning forward in his chair, "were you trying to send yourself 20ft in the air?"

"I think I already answered that," Sukasu replied curtly, flipping the scrambled eggs she was cooking. She had her back to him.

"You're being difficult for no reason," Neji stated, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers.

"No, I'm being difficult because I'm hungry; and I said we would continue our conversation over breakfast."

"This is breakfast."

"No, this is me cooking breakfast."

Neji stared at her back.

Sukasu lowered her head with a sigh. Sliding the eggs out of the pan she placed them on two separate plates; and then turned back to the pan.

"It's a jutsu I've been working on since I was a kid."

"Hmm"

Sukasu turned to look at him, he was watching her intently. Turning back to the pan; she picked up a slab of bacon.

"I managed to master it a few years ago...but I wanted to make it stronger."

Neji was silent.

"The jutsu requires those fans." She used the hand that wasn't holding the spatula, to point at the two fans on the wall.

"I encase them in a certain amount of chakra, before releasing the flow and casting it off. The end result is two masses of chakra that work like scythes being launched off the end of my fans and slicing through my opponent."

"It's something I can use while staying out of my opponents attack range, or so I've been told."

"You haven't used it in an actual fight?" Neji asked, lifting his head.

"No," Sukasu answered shortly; turning from the stove and placing two plates on the table. I've never seen a reason to, since no one I've fought has ever been strong enough for me to resort to that move. "Orange juice, milk, or water?"

"Orange juice, so if you haven't actually used it why are you trying to make it stronger? From what you said it's pretty strong already."

Sukasu poured a glass of orange juice for Neji and some water for herself. "Why try to perfect anything really, if it's already strong enough to bring down an opponent? …Because, there's always someone stronger."

"It sounds like you're fighting some invisible opponent rather than anticipating one," Neji said, It wasn't a question.

"Possibly," Sukasu responded quietly, sitting down at the table.

"So, who is it, this invisible opponent?"

"The person who keeps pushing me to perfect this jutsu; He's the only one I've ever used it against, and I couldn't pierce his defenses."

"Were his defenses that good?"

"360 degrees," Sukasu replied, leveling Neji with a look.

Neji caught on, "My father?"

Sukasu nodded.

"Again?"

"Yes, he was the first of my guardians to begin training me."

"But, I thought Gai-sensei trained you?"

"He did; but it was only in taijutsu, and he wasn't my guardian. At the time I think I had two ANBU assigned to me, but I can't remember their names."

"In any case, when I was still learning this jutsu I couldn't break through Hizashi-sama's rotation; although now I probably could, though I most likely wouldn't be able to do much damage, which is why I still want to make it stronger."

"I see, to defeat that memory of him."

"Not to defeat my memory, but to honor it," Sukasu said, clasping her hands together in her lap.

"Honor it?" Neji cocked an eyebrow.

"Hizashi-sama believed that I could make this jutsu stronger. Believe it or not, despite how simple it seems, this jutsu is one of the strongest in my arsenal. At the time I hadn't mastered it; but he thought I could not only do that, but make it stronger."

"At first, I didn't believe him since I couldn't really understand how to use what I had. But when I finally figured it out; it was too late to show him, or see if it worked as well as he said it would."

"So now, because I can, I will perfect it to the level he said I could. So if I am able to defeat the Hizashi-sama in my memories then..." Sukasu trailed off looking down at her plate.

"I get it." Neji said, "And I think...that's very honorable of you."

Sukasu's head shot up. "You do?"

"Yes," Neji said, simply.

Sukasu felt her lips curve into a soft smile, "Thank you."

Neji bowed his head slightly in acceptance of her thanks.

When he lifted his head he had a request. "But, instead of fighting against your memories, can I become your opponent instead?"

Sukasu studied him for a long time before replying, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Oh?" Neji asked.

Sukasu shook her head back and forth. "No, because if I did manage to perfect it, and you happened to be at the receiving end, you would die."

"I would?" Neji asked, as if he was talking about the weather.

"Yes, you would, once I release the chakra I have no way of stopping it. The only way you could possibly avoid a fatal blow is by countering; but the whole point of the first part of the jutsu is to render you immobile. So if it works you wouldn't be able to counter or avoid it, and I would kill you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," Sukasu said, eying him suspiciously, "Why?"

"Well, doesn't this jutsu have a weakness?"

"Probably," Sukasu replied, still wondering where he was going with this.

"And can't you control the amount of chakra you emit off those fans?"

"Yes," Sukasu answered again.

"So," Neji said, leaning forward slightly. "Doesn't that mean that if you reduce the amount if emitted chakra so that it breaks through my rotation and doesn't harm me; and I'm able to pin point and counter the attack by using its weakness, that I won't die, and you can master the technique?"

Sukasu sat back in her chair, with her arms crossed. "So basically, you're telling me to attack but not full out?"

"Yes," Neji said, watching her reaction. "Just emit enough chakra to get the technique and not land me in the hospital."

"You wouldn't be in a hospital, you'd be in a casket," Sukasu mumbled, arms still crossed. "There's just one problem though."

"What's that?"

"I don't know this jutsu's weakness," Sukasu said, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table.

"Really?"

"Really?"

"Well then," Neji said, smirking. "I guess we'll just have to find it then."

Sukasu sighed, looking away from Neji's smirking face. There was no way she was getting out of this one; she just hoped she didn't land him six feet under.

"Fine, but not today."

Neji's smirk fell from his face, "Hm, Why?"

"Because," Sukasu said, standing up and clearing their plates from the table. "You haven't been home in a while; and I'd assume they're getting pretty worried by now...or did you forget?" She finished with a sly smile.

"No, I didn't forget."

Sukasu turned from the sink to glance at him, his smirk was back.

* * *

"I think we should take a break," Neji spoke up from the middle of the courtyard.

He had arrived back at the Hyuuga compound early that morning and after informing the family that he had been training overnight, retired to his room. It was there, that Hinata found him and begged him to help with her training; which is how he ended up here, in the courtyard two hours later.

"N-no I can k-keep going," Hinata called slightly breathless, from the end of the courtyard.

"No, it's not for you, you forget I was training all night remember? Besides the maids have brought tea." Neji said, waving a hand towards the two steaming cups on the engawa.

"O-oh ri-ri-ght," Hinata said, quickly growing flustered. "I apologize I completely forgot Neji ni-san."

Neji waved off her apology. "It's fine, besides you're getting better, you deserve a break."

"Thank y-you," Hinata mumbled, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks, "but it's all thanks to Neji ni-san's help."

Neji gave her a soft smile before sitting down and grabbing a cup. "To be honest, I'm not doing much; you're improving all on your own."

"But-"

Neji held up a hand to cut her off, "No, it's the truth just accept it."

Hinata closed her mouth and nodded her head demurely. Keeping her head down, she sat next to him.

Neji took that as a quiet acceptance, and went back to sipping his tea. They sat in silence for a while, before he noticed Hinata's increased fidgeting. She had come far in hiding her shyness, but she still had a long ways to go.

Neji waited patiently to see if she would voice her worries, as often, if she were given time she would speak her mind; however, it seemed that that was not the case at the moment.

Neji cleared his throat quietly, causing Hinata to cease her movements and turn all her attention towards him.

"Is there something you wish to talk about?" Neji asked, he didn't want to sound demanding, but he was curious as to what had her so nervous.

Hinata visibly stiffened at his question, "Yes," she whispered quietly.

"Hm?" Neji pretended that he didn't quiet hear what she was saying, in order to make her speak louder.

"Yes," Hinata said again, this time at a more normal pitch.

"What did you wish to talk about?" Neji asked his tone soft, watching his reflection as it rippled within the hot water in his cup.

"Actually, Neji ni-san... I had... A question for you."

Neji eyed her while taking a sip of his tea, waiting.

"Umm," Hinata began to fidget again, "I was just...wondering...what was-what was Neji ni-san's training for?"

Neji sighed into his cup. He had expected this from her since him disappearing without alerting someone to his whereabouts was so rare- in fact he never did it- that she was bound to get worried and ask sooner or later.

Neji took his time in answering her. Placing his now empty cup on the tray and moving into a more comfortable position, he contemplated how much to tell her.

"Well, for starters, I wasn't actually training."

"You weren't!" Hinata exclaimed, surprised, it was unlike Neji to lie.

"No, I had planned on it, but I ended up doing something else instead."

"What-what did you do?" Hinata asked timidly, "I don't mean to pry," she added hurriedly afterwards when Neji turned his head in her direction.

"It's fine; to be honest I went to find a...friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah, I met them in a game shop a while back; I went to find them yesterday and ended up staying the night."

Hinata nodded in understanding, "But then why did Neji ni-san lie to everyone about training?" A frown formed on her face.

Neji's cheeks reddened slightly, "that's just because, I didn't want them asking more questions, my friend is a...private person."

"Oh, I see, you wanted to protect their privacy," Hinata said, with a relieved smile.

"You could say that," Neji said.

"So are you going to visit this friend again?" Hinata asked, in polite curiosity.

"Yes, today actually, I want to train with them," Neji responded, grateful that Hinata didn't pry more into his explanation; like everyone else would have.

"Oh, this person's a ninja too?"

Neji nodded. Yes, or something similar, they have a particular situation so..." He trailed off not sure how to explain further without going into too much detail.

Hinata nodded, seeming to accept his half-formed response to her question. "Well, I wish you luck in your training Ni-san," Hinata said, whole heartedly.

Neji smiled in thanks, that's what he liked about Hinata she was kind and put her all into caring for other people but she respected their privacy and wishes at the same time. She was a pure soul, and he thought of her as a little sister...

"Well, we should get back to training, so you can get to your friend as soon as possible," Hinata said, standing up with renewed enthusiasm.

"Sure," Neji said, also rising, "let's work on your eight trigrams 32 palms then; and I'll teach you the trick to achieving 64 palms."

"Really!" Hinata asked in excitement, her voice probably the loudest he'd ever heard it.

"Sure."

* * *

"Hey! Neji!"

Neji turned around at the sound of his name being called; to see a blond spiky haired ninja, running towards him.

"Hey Naruto," Neji responded, when he was within reasonable speaking distance. "What's up?"

"Ahh nothin'," Naruto replied, with a cheeky grin, placing his hands behind his head; he fell into step beside Neji.

"So where you headed?" Neji asked, looking forward.

"Nowhere really, I was just bored so I decided to take a walk, where are you going?"

"Training."

Naruto's eyes lit up, the excitement in them painfully evident to Neji, as he asked his next question.

"Can I come?"

Neji shrugged, it was fine with him, but he wondered what Sukasu would think. He didn't have a way to contact her outside of her barrier, so he guessed he'd just have to take Naruto with him.

"So..." Naruto launched into another topic, continuing to chatter on, with Neji occasionally responding or commenting on what he said.

When they reached the training grounds Neji made a right turn into the woods and continued walking.

"Uhh Neji?" Naruto asked, with a worried glance towards his friend. "Where are you going? The training grounds are in that direction," He said, pointing in the direction opposite of the way they were headed.

"I told you, I'm going to train, I didn't say at the training grounds," Neji responded simply. A tiny smile curving the corners of his mouth.

"Um okay," Naruto said, scratching his cheek in confusion at Neji's semi-vague answer.

"Oh wait! Is it like some sort of secret training spot?" Naruto asked, bouncing back to his usually hyperactive self, as a new idea came to him.

"No, or actually, it's something like that, you'll see."

"Oh, okay," Naruto said, falling back.

They stayed silent for the rest of the way to Sukasu's house.

When they reached the barrier Neji paused. He knew he would be able to pass through since she had told him that morning that she had modified the barrier to allow him to enter whenever; however, she wasn't expecting him to bring a friend, so he wasn't sure what would happen to Naruto.

"Can you wait here for a second?" Neji asked his friend.

"Sure," Naruto moved back to sit against a nearby tree. "Do what you've got to do."

Neji shook his head, before walking forward into the barrier. Imagining what the look on Naruto's face would be, when he just disappeared.

Stepping through; he walked into the field of irises once more. She was there, standing near the pool, as still as a statue. He didn't know what she was doing; and he moved quietly, to stand beside her.

Sukasu breathed out, ending her little exercise as she sensed Neji's presence within the clearing. Opening her eyes slowly, she stared straight ahead.

"Yes?"

"I've brought a friend."

Sukasu turned to him with both eyebrows raised, "You did?"

"Yeah, he's outside the barrier, could you allow him inside?"

Sukasu closed her eyes concentrating, "He can come in now."

Neji made to walk back across the field, to calm the possibly freaking out Naruto; and tell him he could come inside.

"Before you go…"

Neji stopped.

"Why him?"

"Because, he has a way about him… that changes people."

"So," Neji heard a light splash as Sukasu placed her feet in the water. "You want me to change?"

"No, but I think he would make a great friend for you. He's able to understand even the greatest of pains." With that Neji proceeded forwards, to retrieve her new "friend."

Sukasu watched his retreating back for a moment before turning back to watch the fish make circular patterns around her feet. "'A friend' Heh, I wonder, what type of friend will he be?"

Neji stepped cautiously out of the barrier; and almost walked straight into Naruto's pointed finger.

Jerking his head back so he didn't poke an eye out, he waited for Naruto to move away so he could proceed forward.

"Hey."

"What was that?"

"This?" Neji asked, waving a hand behind him to indicate the barrier.

"Yeah, how come you just disappeared like that?"

"Simple, there's a barrier here," Neji stated, almost as if he were speaking to a child.

"There is? But it doesn't feel like one..." Naruto reached out a hand to poke it.

Neji didn't try to stop him, and just watched as his hand went straight through.

"Woah,"

Neji watched, in silent amusement, as Naruto walked forward step by step, until he was fully within the barrier. Neji followed behind him, making sure not to run into his back when he stopped suddenly.

Carefully sidestepping around Naruto's frozen figure Neji came to halt.

Sukasu was in the same spot as when he had left her; only now she was on her back staring up at the sky.

"Neji...where are we?"

Neji smirked, and ignored his question, walking forward. "Follow me."

Naruto obeyed and followed Neji, wide eyed, towards Sukasu. When they reached her Naruto eyes finally zeroed in on her figure and he immediately exclaimed, "There's a person here!"

Sukasu chuckled at Naruto's unintentional lack of manners; before replying, "Of course, this is my home after all."

Naruto just looked the confusion on his face extremely obvious.

"Oh, Neji didn't tell you?" Sukasu asked, realizing her mistake.

Naruto shook his head, no.

Sukasu shot Neji a look and then returned her gaze to Naruto offering him one of her brightest smiles. "Well, I suppose I should introduce myself then, I'm Sukasu, and you are?"

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, and welcome to my home, Naruto."

Naruto grinned, "Thanks...uh"

"Sukasu"

"Thanks Sukasu, it's nice to be here," Naruto looked around, "Um, where are we exactly?" He asked, turning his head towards Neji.

Neji smirked, "She just told you, this is her home, and the place where I'll be training."

Naruto completely missed the glare Sukasu sent Neji's way, as he fired off a whole host of other questions.

Neji tried to answer them as best he could, before getting tired of his bantering and finally just shouting, "Why don't you ask her? It's her home."

"Oh yeah, you're right," Naruto said, with pause, as if the thought had just occurred to him, which it probably had, "Sorry," Naruto said sheepishly, turning to Sukasu.

Sukasu seemed to be amused when she responded, "Its fine, I don't mind, it's nice to see Neji get so worked up over something, by someone other than me."

Naruto grinned again, "Okay, if you say so, but my last question was for you anyway so..."

"Somehow, I highly doubt that," Neji mumbled from behind him.

Sukasu chuckled.

"Yes, I doubt that, but go ahead what was your question?"

"Um, this might sound a little rude, but..."

Sukasu's eyebrows shot up at the statement, "Continue."

"Who are you exactly? I mean I've never seen you in the village before so I was just wondering."

Sukasu relaxed. "Oh, that's easy," she said, with a smile.

A/N: yay! Naruto and Hinata, but I guess that's to be expected this does have to do with Neji and I'm a NaruHina fan so put two and two together and voila1 there you have it, next chapter, Training and some NejiSuka moments, I hoped you enjoyed it, see you next week, and remember please review! Thanks!


	12. Training

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So new chapter with Naruto, yay! it may not be as good as I wanted it to be though, I had a horrible week, I got sick over the weekend and nothing went well after that, I have immature people in my dance class and horrible teachers who give out more homework than necessary in school, I was also hit in the face today (on accident) so as you can see life is just being kind of...(insert what ever word you see fit). Anyways I would like to thank **WMaldonado89** for the idea you gave me last week, about the nine tails chakra, as you can see I started to go somewhere with it, more on that in later chapters I think it will be fun to add it in to the plot line, Hehehe so as usual ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: Shout outs this week are awarded to... **WMaldonado89** for Reviewing, to and** Kathalla **for favorite-ting and following, and to** Aku Tora **for favorite-ting. Thanks guys!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 12**

Neji sat quietly in his spot as Sukasu began to explain her background to Naruto. She told him most of her background, excluding the story she had told him earlier. He noticed; however, that she seemed to be sugar coating some of her experiences.

_Oh well,_ Neji sighed a slight frown forming on his face. _It's not my business, she'll tell him eventually...I hope_. Neji's frown turned into a grimace.

Sukasu noticed Neji's changing facial expressions and sullen demeanor and decided to tease him a little, to get his mind off of whatever he was thinking about.

Placing a hand on her hip, she directed her voice towards him. "What's wrong Neji? Are you sad that I'm not training with you? Or maybe you're just upset that you're not being included in the conversation?"

Neji's eyebrow twitched, _this bitch... What does training have to do with her conversation, and why would I want to be involved in it anyway? I wouldn't be upset over something like that, what am I a child? _

Neji realized that he was taking a long time to respond to Sukasu's questions, and that she was silently enjoying his lack of response, it showed on her face.

He decided to get back at her, answering in a nonchalant tone he said, "Nothing's wrong. I already told you, I wanted you two to become friends, so talking isn't a problem. No, I was just thinking that if Naruto's here it means that training you are so desperately trying to put off can actually happen now."

Sukasu narrowed her eyes. "Trying to put off...are you that eager to die?" She asked sarcastically.

"No," Neji answered, "like I just said, with Naruto here, there's less of a risk."

Sukasu brought one of her hands up to cover her face and exhaled. "You're way too eager for this, you know that?" Her voice was sharp but tinged with worry.

"Too eager for what?" Naruto asked, looking between the two of them confused. Whatever they were talking about, they had obviously discussed it before he got there. "Guys?" Naruto asked again when they ignored him.

They had begun a staring contest between the two of them and it seemed neither was ready to give.

"Hey!"

Sukasu blinked and turned her head in Naruto's direction, her whole countenance changed from annoyed to apologetic in an instant. "I'm sorry Naruto, what was that?"

"What are you two talking about?"

"It's About..." Neji started.

"It's nothing." Sukasu replied quickly, sending a glare Neji's way.

Neji ignored her and stared straight at Naruto.

"It's about training, there's this technique that she wants to perfect; and I offered to help, but she keeps telling me 'no' because she thinks it's too dangerous.

"Well, is it?" Naruto asked scratching at his cheek.

Neji gave him a look that said he couldn't believe he had just asked that question.

"By myself there was some element of risk, yeah."

Sukasu snorted.

Ignoring her for the moment Neji continued. "But with you the thing she's worried about doesn't even really matter anymore," Neji said, shooting Sukasu a glance to make sure she was listening.

She was stubbornly looking away from him, but he could tell she was still listening. "Besides I already told her, if we could find her attacks weakness then all her worries would be unnecessary."

"So basically, the technique is too dangerous to use on another person." Naruto nodded to himself.

"Yeah, sure." _Well at least he got that much_, Neji thought, looking over to the pond. "So what do you think, are you willing to help?"

"You betcha!" Naruto said, giving Neji a thumbs up.

Sukasu seemed taken aback by Naruto's nonchalance toward the situation. "Wait! Do you even know what you're getting into?"

"Not really," Naruto said putting his hands behind his head. "But if Neji thinks it's okay then it's okay right? I mean Neji would never intentionally put me or anyone else in danger right?" Naruto said with a shrug.

Sukasu sighed and looked towards Neji, he had won. Naruto was right, Neji would never recklessly put himself or his friends in danger, so if he thought it would be fine then she would just have to trust his judgment.

She looked out into the field of irises gathering her thoughts. Neji waited patiently for her response. "Fine, but like I said before, if you get hurt..."

"I won't," Neji said confidently, "At least not in the way you're thinking anyway. This is for you, so don't worry about it. Besides two against one is practice for if you; if you're up against more than one opponent."

"Yeah yeah," Sukasu replied, her tone slightly dejected. "Shall we get started then?" She asked, waving her guests forward.

Sukasu followed Neji and Naruto out into the field, stopping when they stopped.

"So," Naruto started, "I probably should have asked this earlier, but what are we doing exactly?"

"You walked all the way out here and you weren't even sure of what we're doing?" Neji asked his friend heatedly. "Who does that?"

"No, it wasn't that!" Naruto shouted back, trying to hide his rapidly reddening face. "I just wanted to know how she wanted us to attack that's all!"

_It's true,_ Sukasu thought _who walks out to train and doesn't even know what they're supposed to be doing? Besides he didn't even ask until now._ She shrugged inwardly. _I guess that's just him though. _

Before Neji could retort with some sarcastic comment, Sukasu spoke up. "It's simple really. You both just attack me from different angles until I see and opening to launch my attack at Neji, or you. And as soon as I get my first hit in whoever wasn't my target has to move the other person before I get my second hit in."

"Okay, I get it," Naruto said.

"You sure?" Sukasu asked, eyeing him.

"Yep, fight you, and protect my partner from your attacks."

"Yeah...okay, well then, let's get started."

As they moved into position Naruto moved closer to Neji, "So why do I have to get you out of there before the second attack?" He asked.

Neji almost face palmed. "I thought you would get it through context, but I suppose I have to explain it right? If I get hit with the second attack I could be killed; but you probably won't have to worry about it the first couple of times though. She'll most likely send herself flying instead of us."

Naruto didn't reply as he processed the information, assessing his opponent for openings.

"Hey Neji, you distract her and I'll come around from behind."

_Did you listen to anything I just said?_ Neji wondered when Naruto seemed to completely ignore the fact that his friend could possibly be killed if he didn't do anything. Neji sighed and nodded, stepping forward to put their little plan into action.

Sukasu watched the two boys across from her wondering what they were planning. They had been standing still for a while now, but she could see their mouths moving so she knew they were up to something.

She was about to call out to them when she saw Neji move forwards. _Oh well then, I guess it's time to go to work._ She pushed her worries aside and made her move.

Neji moved forward quickly, to be within range, knowing that most of her attacks were long range; if her stayed close to her she couldn't release her attack yet.

Neji stuck to gentle fist, saving the more energy consuming techniques for later.

Sukasu stuck to taijutsu, blocking and defending, with the occasional hit in between.

She was so preoccupied with Neji that she didn't notice Naruto sneaking around to the other side of her. That is, until she noticed an abrupt spike in his chakra. Turning quickly to avoid Neji's hit she flipped backwards to avoid Naruto's attack.

Neji's eyes widened when he realized what was happening, Naruto's attack was now aimed at him and Sukasu was now, most definitely, out of range.

"Eight trigrams air palm."

Sukasu watched as Naruto was unceremoniously blown into a tree. She commended Neji on his quick thinking, while she maneuvered herself into position.

While Naruto was still recovering she launched her attack, opening her fans she ran forward. When she gauged that she was within range, she leapt into the air.

Neji noticed her even before she began running but he wanted to make sure Naruto understood what was going on before he countered.

Seeing her jump he began his rotation increasing the chakra output to strengthen it, in anticipation of what was to come.

He wasn't expecting what happened next, sure, he had seen her attack earlier but it didn't look as strong as it felt. Obviously looks were deceiving because the two blades of chakra sliced cleanly through his rotation as if it wasn't even there.

He wondered briefly if she really meant what she said when she told him that rotations weakened the strength of the chakra blades before they hit him.

Instead of cutting him like they did with the rotation they seemed to wrap around him and encase him within.

He felt like was being wrapped tightly in barbed wires. The tiny points and edges cut into his skin, leaving shallow scratches along his body which became deeper with each passing second.

He realized now what she meant about the first part of her attack being immobilizing, there was no escaping from the attack. When the blades first hit there was some distance between his body and their sharp edges but the longer he was trapped within them the closer and tighter they got.

It was like cutting wire, the tighter it pulls the quicker and deeper it slices. And the reason it was so immobilizing was because the more you moved the easier it was to get hit.

He felt the blades constrict one last time before they dissipated with a bang. The aftershock blowing outwards, straight towards Sukasu.

Neji still couldn't move. He felt as if tiny needles where sticking through him via the cut he had received that were restricting his movements. He knew that the aftershock signaled the beginnings of the second part of Sukasu's attack so he scanned the grounds quickly searching for any sign of Naruto.

He didn't have to search long as Naruto was less than two feet away from him on his right side. He barely had anytime to register how far Sukasu was into her next attack before he was standing on the edge of the clearing next to Naruto.

He watched as Sukasu was lifted up higher into the air from the backlash of power; and then as her arms swung around to continue the blades trajectory to the spot he had had just moved out of.

He saw the glow from the burst of chakra she let out, and then the following disaster.

The aftershock seemed to mix with the added chakra. The two swirled around each other, the burst wasn't strong enough to push the remnant chakra back, and was instead pushed towards Sukasu.

The added force of the extra chakra sent Sukasu flying, for the second time, back towards the waterfall.

Neji and Naruto hurried over to where she landed to help her out. When Neji finally managed to her out of the pool, Naruto began speaking. "That was actually kind of cool; I've never seen a jutsu like that before, but what happened at the end there?"

"I don't really know, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Sukasu said trying to catch her breath.

"Well, would it help if I said I knew?" Neji spoke up from beside her.

Sukasu turned her head towards him curiously.

Neji took that as an indication to continue and said, "The reason you're having trouble is because that burst at the end isn't strong enough to push all of the expanded chakra back, it has nothing to do with your timing."

Sukasu blinked, "but...but that's so simple..."

Neji nodded. "Yeah, it's just that you're cutting your power burst short, so it doesn't have time to accumulate enough power to send the aftershock back to complete your technique."

Sukasu nodded her head, she was listening so intently that Neji couldn't help but compare her to an eager academy student for a second.

The errant thought caused him to chuckle at the end of his little speech. Sukasu luckily didn't notice it or she simply ignored him as she processed the new information.

Nodding to herself she stood up brushing off the dirt and grass that had stuck to her wet person. The grass just moved from her legs to her hands, and the dirt just smeared but she didn't seem to care. She was too eager to try out her jutsu again.

"Okay let's try this again." She stepped forward but slipped a little. Neji reached out a hand to steady her, and she laughed quietly.

"It seems I used up a lot of my strength for the day. This might sound like a strange question but Neji can I borrow a little of yours?"

Neji was a little shocked at her question, till he figured out what she meant. "Oh yeah, sure."

"What!" Naruto was even more shocked at her question, not knowing exactly what she meant. He thought she wanted Neji to fight on her side for a while, which would make him the target of her attack.

Neji quickly figured out what Naruto was thinking, and decided to stop his thoughts in their tracks.

"No, Naruto she means can she borrow some of my chakra, so she can fight."

"She can do that?" Naruto's eyes were close to resembling saucers, as he stared at Neji.

Sukasu answered for Neji, "Yes I can do that it's part of my power as a Hana, I explained this earlier," She said as she moved closer to Neji. "Would you like to see how it's done?" She asked.

Naruto nodded quickly, "Yeah but, if you don't mind, I want you to take mine instead."

Both Sukasu and Neji stared at Naruto, before Sukasu found her voice. "No, I don't mind but ...why?"

"Because, it wouldn't be interesting to just watch it happen. Besides if you take his chakra he won't be able to hold up as long as he could, if you didn't. So can you?"

Sukasu shrugged her shoulders and looked at Neji, silently asking what he thought of this proposal.

Neji just stared back at her, whatever she saw in his eyes she was satisfied with the answer because she moved away from him and towards Naruto.

"Okay," she said, as she placed a hand on his chest. "This shouldn't hurt...that much, just relax and don't move." Naruto nodded, and stood straighter as if that would help.

Sukasu smiled a little before delving into her mind's eye. She could sense where his chakra was concentrated, and she eased her hand towards it.

As she placed her hand on the chakra she felt a jerk and then a feeling of absolute fear came over her. There was another chakra's presence inside his body and it didn't feel good.

While Naruto's chakra was warm and inviting, this was as cold as ice and it pulled her in, freezing her body and trapping her in its grip.

She shivered as she felt it coax, or rather drag her forward, towards it. She felt as if she was splitting in two, one half of her fighting against this unknown chakra the other half eager to take some, as it felt this chakra was much stronger than Naruto's.

But she didn't want it. This was forbidden chakra, she could tell, it felt dangerous. She jerked back, accidentally pulling some of the forbidden chakra with her as she removed her hand from Naruto's physical body.

She felt it being absorbed into her system and it flared up engulfing her and burning her, hotter than the hottest flame; the exact opposite of how it felt inside Naruto's body.

It was painful, but the part of her that sensed chakra was right. This was much stronger than Naruto's normal chakra. She felt incredibly energized from it.

Naruto looked down at his arms curiously. He didn't really feel any different when she borrowed his chakra. Of course it felt a little weird; it was like something of a ghost arm entered his body and touched upon the deepest part of him.

The only semblance of pain he felt was when she removed her hand. He felt a sharp jerking sensation within his chest area before it disappeared and Sukasu removed her hand.

As he looked over to her he noticed she seemed to be shaking a little and he wondered what had happened for her to react like that.

"Sukasu is everything all right?" Neji asked before Naruto could open his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sukasu responded quickly waving him off. "Perfectly fine and full of energy, so let's continue this training 'kay?"

Neji nodded and followed her back out to the field.

* * *

After the next couple try's and many dips in the pool, Sukasu finally managed to get the second half of her technique and moved on to testing its strength against an actual opponent. In this case, Naruto, since Neji was lying flat out on his back, worn out from being a guinea pig.

Sukasu didn't blame him, there had been one instance where Naruto didn't make it in time and both her and Neji got blasted. It was worse for him because he was still under the effects of the first attack.

Sukasu dodged a kick from Naruto and retaliated with one of her own. Naruto blocked and sent a punch her way. She back flipped into a tree, planting her feet on its trunk, she used the force to send her flying back at him.

Straight into a Rasengan. She was sent backwards into another tree, her back arched forwards and she began coughing.

"Damn, that was quick," she said, standing back up. "I didn't even have time to dodge." She glared at Naruto, who was grinning at her from across the clearing.

"Well then," she said flicking open a fan, "let's try this again."

She ran towards him preparing herself. In the meantime Naruto had created two more shadow clones for another Rasengan.

Again she leapt into the air and again he sent a Rasengan her way, but this time it was bigger. _I hope this works,_ she prayed before letting loss a flurry of attacks.

The resounding sound that echoed throughout the barrier was astounding. "Her jutsu against his giant Rasengan," Neji muttered as he watched the two of them being sent in opposite directions. "They've been doing this for hours; she should know that at her current strength it's not doing much for either of them."

Neji sighed. "Oh well, they're both idiots anyway, might as well let them fight until they're exhausted."

"But really if she was able to go at full power who knows how much damage that attack might cause," Neji said quietly to himself.

"I guess we' just have to wait and see."

* * *

Three hours and a destroyed clearing later, both Naruto and Sukasu where motionless on the ground; and Neji was left with the arduous task of hauling both their asses into her house.

"Hey," Sukasu said tiredly from her position on the couch, Naruto had been dumped on the floor. Neji looked up.

"You two are staying for dinner right?"

Two male chuckles filled the room, one amused and one tired.

"Of course."

"Sure, why not?"

A/N: I don't know if this was good, bad, or okay but I'm tired and sick so I'm not going to worry about it, anyways I'll see you guys next week, Thanks! and please review I would appreciate it.


	13. Color

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: okay so nothing much to report for this week, besides the usual I hate school and it's a new chapter spiel, and since that can get pretty boring I'm skipping it, anyways I hope you enjoy ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: I have a lot for this week! Shout outs this week are awarded to... **WMaldonado89 **and** Nakcabttack2** for Reviewing, to** Nuke Tremor **and** Navieh **for favorite-ting, and to** WaffleSquid, StayTraught, A. Himawari, The-handprint-on the-window, and Shinsomaru **for following. Thanks guys!

also to my **guest reviewer**:

Thank you, I really appreciate when people tell me they like my story, especially since it's my first one. I hope you will continue to read in the future.

-Star

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 13**

_Bright_

_If there was one word to describe him that would be it_, Sukasu thought as she looked at him. _Not bright as in smart lord knows he was slow on the uptake sometimes; but just bright, Sunshiny, vibrant whatever you wanted to call it that was it. If you wanted a color he would be yellow or orange, a nice complement to the one next to him_.

Sukasu moved her gaze to the other male at her table. _If he had a color it would be blue. Not a vibrant blue but maybe a light shade, something calm. Calm, like water, or at least the surface of it, underneath was a turbulent swirl of emotion, something that could only be covered up by him and only him, but calm none the less. _

_If I had a color what would it be?_ Sukasu mused to herself as she watched the two.

At the moment Naruto was laughing at Neji's reaction to something he had said. Neji was trying his hardest to not look put out, but was failing miserably; the longer Naruto laughed the more his mask slipped.

Sukasu felt a smile appear on her face. _This is a nice feeling; it's been awhile since the last time there was so much laughter here._ She silently thanked Neji for bringing Naruto to her.

He had realized, way before she had, that she needed a friend like him. Another thought trailed behind that, _he probably wouldn't be the last one either. _

_I have a feeling that things are going to be very interesting from now on...in a good way. _

Sukasu came out of her thoughts to find the two boys staring at her intently.

"Huh? What is it?"

"You've been quiet for a while now," Neji said.

"Yeah, are you not feeling well?" Naruto asked concerned, "If that's it than we can leave if you like."

"Huh? No," Sukasu said, waving her hands in front of her. "That's not it at all! I was just thinking how nice it was that the two of you were here that's all! Honestly if I'd have wanted you two to leave I would have kicked you out already!"

Sukasu didn't realize she was shouting until Naruto put his hands up to cover his ears, and Neji said, "Okay, we get it, no need to yell."

"Oh, I was yelling?" Sukasu asked, putting her hands down. "I'm sorry I guess I got a little excited, I'm sorry," she apologized again.

Neji just let out a sigh while Naruto cautiously let his hands down. "Anyway it is getting kind of late so we probably should go, even if you do feel fine." The way he said it suggested he thought otherwise.

"Oh yeah," they both noticed the sudden drop in her mood. "At least take some dessert back with you."

Neji shook his head no; he wasn't really a sweets person so he didn't want her to waste her food on him. Naruto on the other hand was all kinds of happy at the suggestion.

He watched over her shoulder as she placed the dessert on a plate and carefully wrapped it in plastic, before handing it to him.

"I hope you like it, it's my specialty."

"Are you sure you don't want any, Neji?" Sukasu asked once more, indicating the dessert.

"No, I'm not really into sweet things and I don't want it to go to waste."

Sukasu nodded her head and opened her mouth as if to say something but thought better of it and closed it again.

"Um"

Sukasu turned her head to look at Naruto, "Yes?"

"I was just wondering where your bathroom was, I mean I know we're about to leave and all, but I really have to go; and it's a long walk back."

Sukasu chuckled, "Of course I don't mind, it's..."

"Down the hall second door on the left," Neji finished for her.

Both Sukasu and Naruto gave Neji confused looks to which Neji just replied with a shrug.

Naruto took that as an answer and went to find the toilet

Sukasu continued to stare at Neji after Naruto left.

"What?"

Sukasu just shook her head and went back to wrapping up the rest of the dessert to put away. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

Sukasu looked over her shoulder at Neji but her view was blocked because of her hair. "Yes?"

"What are you worrying about?"

Sukasu looked back down at the half wrapped dessert. "I'm not worried just thinking."

Neji chuckled, "Alright then, what are you thinking about?"

Sukasu finished wrapping the dessert and gently removed herself from his hold. Placing the plate in the fridge she said, "Colors"

"Colors?"

"Yeah," Sukasu replied, turning away from the fridge. "Are you sure you don't want to take anything home with you?" She asked, switching the subject.

Neji sighed knowing she wasn't going to go deeper into the subject until she was ready, he decided to drop it. "Soba?" It came out like a question.

Sukasu nodded her head and turned to get some soba out of the pot. "You're going to have to eat this soon, soba doesn't last long," she said, handing him a bag

He nodded silently as Naruto walked back through the door.

"Okay," Sukasu said clapping her hands together, "I'll walk you out."

Again, a silent nod from Neji.

* * *

The trio walked in relative silence to the clearings edge. Stopping at the barrier, Sukasu turned to Naruto.

"Naruto?"

"Hm"

"Thank you for staying...and helping me train, I hope I'll see you again."

Naruto nodded a grin plastered across his face. "You're welcome, it was no trouble I needed the workout, and I had a lot of fun so I'm sure I'll be back soon."

Sukasu smiled, "That would be nice, thank you."

Naruto nodded again and walked out through the barrier, leaving Sukasu and Neji alone once again.

The two stared at each other for a minute before Sukasu broke the silence. "Will you be back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, probably," Neji responded softly.

"Oh okay, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Neji nodded and turned to walk out the barrier.

"Neji?"

He stopped when he felt a hand on his arm, and his eyes widened when he felt lips brush across his cheek.

He looked down at Sukasu in surprise

"Umm," she fidgeted a little, looking away from him, "Thank you, for today, for bringing Naruto I mean. You were right; I need a friend like him."

Neji smirked, "reminds you of Naori doesn't he?"

Now it was Sukasu's turn to be shocked, "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess?"

Sukasu let go of his arm to hit him playfully in the shoulder. "Liar, you noticed it too, and from the little information I gave you." She shook her head. "How?"

"Well, first of all it was more than a little information, besides even though their personalities and background are probably a little different the feeling is still there, it's bright isn't it?"

Sukasu just looked at him, giving a soft smile in answer to his question.

"Wait, that's it isn't? That's what you were thinking about earlier," Neji pointed out.

Sukasu laughed, "That's part of it; but I already told you, I was thinking about colors, now," she said softly, pushing him into the barrier, "Go and make sure the Bright One doesn't get lost."

Neji looked behind him at the barrier, nothing, he rolled his eyes, "Oh well, I'll get it from her tomorrow." He spotted Naruto next to the same tree he had been leaning against that afternoon.

"That sure took a while," Naruto said as Neji came closer, indicating the time it took Neji to leave the barrier. "It looks like she had to throw you out."

"Whatever," Neji chuckled; not really answering Naruto's unspoken question, walking past him, he began to make his way back to the village. "Come on Bright One stick close to me so you don't get lost."

"What? Neji are you okay?"

"..."

"Neji?"

Naruto ran off after his friend, leaving the girl who wondered about colors behind.

* * *

Sukasu leaned against the doorway looking into her kitchen. One of the chairs was pushed away from the table, and there were dirty dishes in the sink ready to be washed.

The table had to be wiped off, and the floor swept, but for some reason she didn't find these chores as bothersome as she would have if it was just her.

_Purple,_ she thought to herself as she rinsed off the plates in the sink. _No, it's too flashy I'm not the type who is always noticed, and I'm definitely not obedient either, so purple's out then. I'm nowhere near white and that just leaves black, green and red._

Sukasu chuckled quietly to herself, "Who knew colors could become such a problem, especially when thinking about one for yourself."

"But then," Sukasu looked at the chair she had neglected to return to its proper position. It served as a reminder that from now on she wouldn't be alone at her table. "I wonder, what colors will the others be?"

"Oh wow," Sukasu said laughing out right, "You've found yourself such an interesting companion." Her laughter died out slowly and her eyes came to rest on the two fans Neji had so graciously thought to put back on the wall.

"Are you watching all of this Hizashi-sama? Do you see what your son is doing?" She asked softly

"I never thought it was possible, for someone to heal these old wounds" she continued pressing a hand to her chest. "But now, he has me wondering."

"It would be great," she whispered, "If you could watch everything from here on out, don't you think?"

* * *

Morning came with the birds, and subsequently so did another day in our wonderful Konoha nin's lives. There was laughter and yelling and all things associated with a typical village day, including the ninja that stood in front of the Hokage's desk.

"So you're telling me that he followed you and was able to pass through the barrier with no problems." Tsunade repeated the information given to her.

"Yeah, pretty much she was expecting him though so the barrier part is a little..."

"It doesn't matter," Tsunade cut him off, "it's just that now things will get even more troublesome for me and for that girl."

"Permission to speak, Hokage-sama"

"Permission granted."

"Not to be rude or anything but isn't it good that the girl is making friends? She's been alone for so long now, it would be good for her."

"I know that, it's just a matter of the friends she's making; she knows the consequences of..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but does it really matter? If he sees her as a friend, then we shouldn't force them apart. It might cause her to revert back to being a shell and then she'll be almost useless as a ninja, it could also risk her rebelling. Those are just my thoughts though."

Tsunade nodded her head, "I thought about that, it would prove to be bad but...what about Hisashi-sama?"

"Why don't we just let them figure it out, if it comes to the point where they need out intervention then we'll step in but not until then. Does that sound reasonable? You said so yourself; before when she came in, you told her to take care of it on her own. It's the same thing."

Tsunade let out a sigh, "Fine I approve that plan, and you all are dismissed."

* * *

"Oww" Sukasu moaned, when she landed on her already bruised back for the fifth time that morning.

"I'd say three at full power is my limit then," she said to herself as she rolled over to look at the large crater in the ground next to the field of flowers.

"Shit that's gonna be a bitch to repair," she berated herself as she stood up, "shouldn't have done that."

"Okay that takes black out, there is no elegance about this at all, and no matter how much blood might be on my hands…" she flinched when those words came out of her mouth, "I'll never love death."

"Just green then, I've already figured out I'm not that hot headed, or passionate about things so that took red out. At this point I wonder if i'm a color at all, maybe I'm just a blank canvas waiting to be dyed or something."

For some reason that though made her sad, "To be dyed any color means I can be used by anybody; and I know for a fact I wouldn't allow that. But it doesn't take out the possibility."

Her head turned toward the sound of someone walking towards her.

"Shikamaru? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting, what are you doing digging a grave?"

Sukasu looked down at the half filled crater behind her, "Maybe, probably, in more ways than one, yeah, why?"

Shikamaru didn't seem to be paying attention to her he was looking up at the sky. "You're worrying them you know, with what you're doing," He said after a while.

"Oh and what do they plan on doing since I'm worrying them so much?" she asked going back to filling in the crater. She didn't even bother to look up when he responded.

"Nothing, they plan on doing nothing."

Her short, "Oh?" Was the only thing that told him she was listening.

"They're going to let you deal with it your own way."

"Well that's generous of them."

Shikamaru pretended not to hear her sarcastic remark

"If things get out of hand though they'll step in."

Sukasu stopped working to look up at Shikamaru. "I don't think it will get that bad. I know how to handle myself, if anything I just want to have peace between us. I'm tired of having to fight his misconceptions; I'm hoping that this friendship will prove fruitful."

"You're plan could backfire, you know that, right?"

"I know, but it's worth a try I'm out of options."

"Yeah, you are."

Sukasu and Shikamaru stood in silent understanding, her looking up at him from the bottom of the crater and him standing at the edge.

"Green"

"What?"

"My color is green"

"Do I even want to know?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sukasu shook her head; "I think you'll figure it out later."

"Whatever," Shikamaru said turning away from her. "Good luck with everything," he said, waving a hand goodbye.

"Yeah," Sukasu replied quietly, watching his retreating form.

"Now that I know what my color is it should be easier. If anything I'll strive to live up to it, I'll grow with it, create peace between our families, and hopefully in the end live in harmony with everyone; that's why my color will be green."

_Green, growth, harmony, peace _

A/N: Who are these people Tsunade is talking to? and what's with all the colors? who knows? I sure don't, it was a plot bonny that showed up when I was writing but whatever it works. Also for those who are wondering what I was talking about when Sukasu mentions obedience she's referring to the flower. It has nothing to do with color meanings or anything like that, I just have a thing for her referencing flowers from time to time, it's in her name so why not? Anyways that's it for this chapter, as always please review! Thanks!


	14. Day Out

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: slowly crawls into a room full of angry people hoping no one will notice her, epic fail. "hhhiii guys, so I know I've been missing for two weeks," protects head from randomly thrown objects, "but it was for good reason!" *wails* "I got hit in the head and ended up with a concussion and they told me I couldn't do anything, literally, I was told to sleep and be bored" but on a lighter note my doctor says I can do more things now, which means I can finally upload, which is great! it's also the reason for why I'm uploading on a Tuesday, but to thank you all for dealing with my absence... it's a **double** update Whoo! anyways I hope this stops the killer intent that's probably being directed my way. ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: I have a ton for this week! Shout outs this week are awarded to... **WMaldonado89 **and** Navieh** for Reviewing, to** Rosa Scarsz Cruz **and** Samisen95 **for favorite-ting and following, to** iPrettyPrincess, Sabie0521, Yuki0123, and junebaby95 **for following, and to **Nightengales Dream** for favorite-ting. Thanks guys!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 14**

Sukasu was in the bath when she heard them. There was a crash then a muffled thump and a curse word; then the increased shuffling of feet. Sukasu stood quickly, the warm water splashing over the sides of the tub. She grabbed a towel, and not even bothering to dry off, ran out into the hallway.

Only to find Naruto, sitting on his butt, on the floor with one of her vases in fragments around him.

"Wha...what are you doing...Naruto?"

Naruto didn't look up as he responded. "I came with Neji since I wanted to visit you again, but I really had to use the bathroom, and I forgot where it was, and I was kind of running around, and I hit the vase and it fell, sorry." He spoke in a jumbled rush while he nursed the bump atop his head.

Sukasu blinked trying to follow Naruto's jumbled speech catching only a few things and the word 'sorry' at the end. Not really understanding; but piecing together the gist of what he was saying, she tried to formulate an appropriate response.

What do you say to someone who suddenly appeared in your house, and is possibly you're friend, but broke your vase on the way to the bathroom which they forgot the location of and then apologized afterward?

Fortunately, she didn't have the time to respond because at that moment Neji came around the corner.

"Suka..." Neji's voice died in his throat.

Sukasu looked back, her wet hair sliding over her shoulder, leaving tiny rivulets of water in their wake.

The, now, cold water dripping down her back and shoulders reminded Sukasu that she was standing in the middle of the hallway, with nothing but a towel to cover her.

She felt her cheeks grow heated, and she knew her face was red as a tomato.

"I...um...Neji..." Sukasu looked away, embarrassed.

She didn't look up when she heard Neji approach. Nor did she look up when she sensed him bending down so that his mouth was level with her ear.

She was worried, _what was he going to say or do or..._

Neji breathed in, she shivered when she felt the slight movement of air.

"Why are you looking away? You shouldn't be embarrassed, it's not like it's something I haven't seen before," He whispered.

If it was possible, she flushed even more. But it turned from one of embarrassment to one of indignation when she heard him chuckle.

Straightening, he walked around her towards Naruto.

When Sukasu found her voice again, she spun around to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, besides that fact that you're in your house and it's nothing to be embarrassed about that's all."

"You're deliberately not answering my question," Sukasu accused.

"Really? I think I answered it, you asked what I meant, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I was talking about..." Sukasu let the sentence hang. Not wanting to repeat what he had said in front of Naruto.

Neji turned his head to give her a look that said we'll talk later.

Sukasu had no choice but to accept, since Naruto had long since gotten up from the floor and was patiently, or as patiently as he could, waiting for her to tell him where the broom and dustpan where.

She let out a slow breath to calm herself before motioning for Naruto to follow her down the hallway.

"So um..." Naruto began.

Sukasu moved her head to show him she was listening.

"I'm sorry about your vase; I'll make sure to clean all of it up, okay?" Naruto said.

Sukasu gave a short nod; she knew what he really wanted to say. _What's going on between the two of you?_

"That's fine, it wasn't that important anyway." _To be honest, at this point, I don't know._

"Oh well, that's okay right? Since it wasn't that important then you're not that upset that it broke right?" _I understand, but it's more than just a simple friendship isn't it?_

"Yeah, but you're still cleaning it up," she said jokingly, handing him a broom. _Yes_

* * *

"So why were you guys casually walking around my house anyway?" Sukasu asked leaning against the wall while Naruto cleaned up; Neji was beside her.

"I thought Naruto told you," Neji responded, "He had to use the bathroom."

"Yeah, I was told that, hey! Wait, how did you know that?"

Neji just glanced at her then went back to watching Naruto; "He was loud enough for even the Akatsuki to hear him, I was just around the corner."

"True, but why were you so far behind him? You know where the bathroom is right? All of this could have been prevented." Sukasu asked, waving a hand towards Naruto.

"I was trying to show him," Neji said. Sukasu noticed that his tone held the slightest bit of annoyance.

Sukasu sighed, "I see, Naruto when you said you came to visit you meant to continue training right?" She asked, addressing him now.

Naruto stood up, dustpan in hand; "No, actually I was asking Neji if it was okay if you leave this place."

"Leave this place?" Sukasu repeated confused.

"Yeah, like if you're allowed in the village and stuff."

"Oh," Sukasu said, her face clearing. "So you wanted to go out?" She felt Neji stiffen beside her. She allowed herself a small smile at his reaction, as she had specifically chosen those words to get on his nerves.

"Well if he didn't tell you, as a matter of fact, I can leave this place, just wait for me and I'll get changed, then we can go," Sukasu ended, heading off towards her bedroom.

Watching her leave the two were left standing slightly awkwardly in the middle of the hallway.

"So, does she want us to meet at the door or just wait here?" Naruto finally asked.

Neji just shrugged "I don't know, I guess we'll just meet at the door."

* * *

"Hey, Neji?"

"Hm?"

They had been standing at the door all of 3 minutes before Naruto couldn't take the silence anymore.

"How'd you find out about Sukasu?"

Neji looked up quickly tilting his head in Naruto's direction. "What do you mean by that?" Neji asked, in a tone akin to Sukasu's earlier.

"I mean, you two seem to get along so well, that I thought maybe...you guys have known each other for a while, ya know?" Naruto said slowly, tossing a curious glance in Neji's direction.

Neji shrugged, choosing a non-verbal response as his best course of action to ending the impending conversation that much quicker. He was forced to respond however when he found Naruto watching him intently almost five minutes later.

Neji sighed, "We haven't really known each other all that long. Do we really seem to get along that well?" He asked, trying to divert Naruto's attention with his question.

Naruto snorted, "Well yeah, I mean if what happened just now was anything to go by, you two get along great. But you didn't answer my question," Naruto stated flatly.

Neji eyes widened slightly in mild surprise. Naruto had definitely changed over the years. While some aspects remained the same there were others that didn't; and Neji learned with mild shock, that Naruto was not as easily led astray as he had been in the past. Neji sighed once more.

"If you're asking how we met then you're better off asking her," Neji said tilting his head in the direction where their now mutual friend was currently inhabiting. "She came up to me, at first it probably could have been looked at as coincidence. But the more I got to know her...I...now I'm not so sure."

Neji paused. Thinking about everything she had spoken to him about after they met. _Her knowledge of the Byakugan and his father. The fact that she even knew his father. Wouldn't that mean that she had also known about him? It was just..._

"But besides that, after we met, she ended up helping out on a mission I was on and she saved me from a very troublesome trip to the hospital. In the end no matter what feelings I have towards our first meeting...I trust her."

"On the other hand, if you're asking how I know about her past, I was curious. I asked and she answered same as you." _Though just like with you I also know that she left some things out. _

"Wow," Naruto exclaimed. "I think that's the most I've heard you talk since the Chunin exams."

Neji threw Naruto an irritated glare. "Well what do you expect? I'm not like Lee I don't go spouting off every whimsical piece of nonsense that comes into my head."

"So you admit that you think of whimsical nonsense then?" A female voice asked from behind him.

"I..." Neji started, then froze when he realized who had asked the question. "How long have you been standing there?" He asked instead.

"How long have I been here or how much have I heard?" Sukasu replied with a question of her own.

"Since you asked how about both." Neji retorted. Effectively sidestepping her rather blatant attempt to voice his concerns.

Neji noticed the light tug of a smirk on the edge of her lips and wondered at it briefly before she responded.

"Not long and enough."

Neji felt his eyebrow twitch; closing his eyes he began counting. _2 palms 4 palms...don't take the bait; it's what she wants... 6 palms 8 palms._ He could feel the smugness radiating off her person. _10 palms_.

Neji deemed himself calm enough to reply to Sukasu's goading.

"I see, well in any case the answer doesn't really matter. Since you're here we can leave."

Sukasu blinked, her smug demeanor slowly slipping away as Neji continued.

_Wait? Was I just...dammit..._

"I assume Naruto had a specific place in mind." Neji gave Naruto a pointed look.

"Huh? Oh yeah I did." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "But...well..."

"What Naruto?" two pairs of purple eyes focused on him.

"Well, I wanted to take her to Ichiraku's but..."

"What is it?" Sukasu asked confused.

"Naruto..." Neji said rubbing his temples in aggravation, "Ramen isn't exactly a breakfast menu item."

Naruto immediately went in the defensive. "What! Ramen is good for any meal. It has every ingredient needed to make it the ideal food. But, like I was saying, Ichiraku's doesn't open until eleven which isn't for another two hours!"

"That's beside the point." Neji raised his voice as he began to lose his temper. "Ramen still isn't meant for breakfast no matter how good you think it is!"

"Um guys?" Sukasu tried to get their attention, but was ignored as the two boys continued to bicker in front of her.

"Um?" Again she was ignored.

"Hey!" She finally yelled raising her voice above the other two.

Both men froze, and turned their heads to stare at her.

"Thank you," Sukasu said with pseudo sweetness that sent shivers up the two men's spines.

"Now since you two have finally decided to shut up. I can tell you that as much as I appreciate your concerns about my consumption of a proper meal. I'll have you know that I have already eaten an entirely well balanced and delicious breakfast. So I don't mind just walking around Konoha until whatever this place that Naruto wants me to eat at is open. Okay?"

It wasn't a suggestion by any means. Her tone and the fact that she had already begun walking towards the edge of the barrier meant that she had made up her mind and the two would have no choice but to follow.

"I thought that we were the ones taking her out?" Naruto muttered to Neji as they slowly trudged after her.

Neji wisely choose to remain quiet lest Sukasu hear them and they were made to suffer her wrath.

A valuable lesson had just been learned. Never ignore a woman in the comfort of her own home.

As it was, walking around Konoha for two hours wasn't all that bad. It gave Neji and Naruto the chance to introduce Sukasu to more of their friends.

By the third person it became apparent to Neji, that while Sukasu knew of a lot of the ninja and villagers of Konoha, she had personally met very few. This of course proved very beneficial for Naruto.

"...and then there's Sakura. She's this really pretty and strong medic Nin who kinda has a crush on me." Naruto continued from his spot beside Sukasu.

"Does she really?" Sukasu asked, mildly interested.

Neji who had been walking a few paces behind the two, appeared on Sukasu's other side. "Not really it's actually the other way around. Naruto's the one with the crush," he provided blandly.

"Hmm I see," Sukasu responded, nodding her head.

A red tinge appeared on Naruto's nose and he quickly searched for a change of topic. "Yeah, well..."

It was at that moment that the trio passed by the bookstore, where one such copy ninja was currently occupying space.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out, grateful that a distraction came so readily.

_Kakashi?_ Sukasu blanched and immediately maneuvered herself so that she was effectively hidden behind Neji.

"Yo, Naruto" Kakashi greeted looking up from the stack of books he was browsing. "What's up?"

"Ah nothin' much," Naruto replied grinning, "just walking with a couple of friends, around Konoha."

Kakashi nodded his head. Looking past Naruto to see Neji standing off to the side. _Neji? That's only one friend._ Then he saw feet. "Would your other friend happen to be the one who is currently hiding behind Neji?" Kakashi asked bluntly.

"Hm?" Naruto looked over his shoulder at Neji, who was currently preoccupied with the cursing silver haired girl behind him.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked worrying for Sukasu's mental state as she let loose a constant stream of profanity.

"Shut up! Yeah, I'm fine! Shit. Fuck. Shit shit shit."

Her continuous cursing could have impressed a sailor, as she listened to Naruto and Kakashi from her position at Neji's back. _Just please don't..._

"Yo! little cowering kitten-chan," Kakashi greeted from besides her.

Sukasu almost passed out.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei it's not nice to scare people like that." Naruto reprimanded when they finally managed to bring Sukasu back to her senses. "Even if it was kind of funny."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't think she would freak out like that, though."

Sukasu glared at him

"Sorry," he said, "As an apology, how about I buy the three of you ramen?"

"Oh stuff it," Sukasu said angrily. "We all know the minute the price hits a little too deep in your pockets we're stuck with the bill."

Three different pairs of eyes all focused on her at once.

"Sukasu?" Naruto asked confused.

Neji just gave her a questioning look_. One minute she's cowering behind me a cursing up a storm. The next she's back to her old self like nothing happened. I can't figure her out. _

"So you back to your old self again cowardly kitty-chan?" Kakashi asked unfazed by her sudden change in behavior.

Sukasu blushed, the color spreading across her cheeks rapidly. "I thought I told you not to call me that...Perv."

Silence reigned supreme. Then Naruto laughed.

"So, I take it you two know each other?" Neji asked.

And so it was learned, over a delectable lunch of miso ramen, that was surprisingly paid for by Kakashi. That the two did indeed know each other; and that Sukasu was not very proud of the fact.

Apparently Kakashi posed as the star of many of her most, according to her of course, traumatizing memories.

"So, what happened?" The ever curious Naruto was nearly at the edge of his seat as he asked the question. Prying into his old sensei's mysterious past endeavors was nothing short of a favorite past time for the blond.

"Nothing much really," Kakashi said in his usual non-committal way.

"Really? Sleeping in my bed and then taking a soak in my bath the next morning is nothing much?" Sukasu retorted, angrily stabbing at an elusive piece of pork with her chopsticks.

Neji almost choked on his soup, sputtering he placed the bowl down and tried to maintain some form of decency when he retrieved a wad of napkins from the dispenser in front of him.

Naruto; on the other hand, fell out his seat.

"Explain please," Neji asked when he had finally managed to clean up the light mess that had followed Sukasu's revelation.

Over the next half hour Neji, and Naruto, learned from Sukasu, that at one point she had attempted to run away; and Kakashi, who had been assigned as one of her guards at the time, was sent to retrieve her.

After losing the ensuing fight to his Chidori, which Sukasu called 'one of the most shameful moments in her life' she had promptly passed out from the shock and had to be carried home.

Sukasu had awoken the nest morning to find the silver haired nin in her bathroom 'naked' she didn't fail to mention. She mentioned it multiple times in fact, each time sending Kakashi in her opinion a well-deserved glare.

She had also found out later that he had spent the night at her place, in her room, in her bed.

Sukasu ever the pragmatist, claimed to be 'scared for the rest of her natural life.'

Kakashi who somehow managed to look unassuming despite all of her accusations against him. Claimed that after she passed out, she somehow managed to take hold of his shirt and would not let go. He even went so far as to say; in her shock riddled mind she had begged him not to leave her when he tried to remove her hand.

So in the end, being the gentleman he was, he had stayed the night, and according to him he had read a book, the contents of that book, of course, were not as innocent.

"That's a damn lie!" Sukasu cried out "You're a ninja make a clone, use substitution, break my hand and disappear or something! Don't just go sleeping in someone's bed!" She wasn't buying the whole book reading thing, innocent or not.

Neji just shook his head at the whole thing believing it to be one of those mysteries of human interaction that he would never understand.

Naruto just laughed through the entire explanation vowing to never let the story leave either of their memories.

* * *

In the end, the day went by as all days do leaving the group with happy memories and ending with friendly goodbyes and promises to once again have an outing such as this one.

At least that's how it ended for two of them.

"You're really luck you know that?"

Sukasu had decided to take the long route home and was instantly regretting it the moment she felt the older ninja appear.

"I've been told that," she replied casually "but it's interesting that you would tell me this now." _Is there a reason for it?_

She waited, patiently, for him to respond to her unspoken question. He didn't. Of course he wouldn't.

"Shikamaru already told me of everyone's decision, but you should have already known that. So why are you here? To warn me? if that's the case, then it's already been done multiple times in fact. You've already been beaten to the punch." She turned to face him in the dying evening light.

"I didn't come here to warn you. I know far too well how many people have already done that. I came to ask if you're really ready for all of this."

Sukasu sighed had it been any other person she would have brushed them off and kept on walking. But this was Kakashi after all, it was harder to lie, most times she didn't even bother to. He knew her too well for that.

"In all honestly, I'm scared, I don't know if what I'm doing is the right thing. But I do know what I want; and that's to finally have some peace. This mistrust and discontentment has gone on long enough and it needs to stop and someone has to take the first step. So in answer to your question. No i'm ready, but then no one ever is."

The two ninja faced each other on the empty street one with their head down the other looking straight ahead. Neither spoke. Then the wind blew causing Sukasu's silver tresses to swirl and cast an eerie glow about her face. She looked up.

"I understand, just remember I'm here if you need anything."

"I know. Thank you, Kakashi"

He nodded his head in acceptance of her thanks, and turned to walk back the way he came.

"Say 'Hi' to Pakkun for me," Sukasu said quietly.

He raised his hand to let her know he had heard and continued on his way.

A/N: So can you tell I was hit in the head yet? Yeah? Great! now you believe me! anyways... so I brought Kakashi into the story, yay! if you're wondering about his relationship with Sukasu it's supposed to be something along the lines of siblings a kind of annoying but worried older brother and a sister who has to put up with his antics. it's a little OOC for Kakashi, I know, but since neither of them actually have siblings I tried to figure out how they would act towards each other as surrogate siblings, don't know if I got it right, but I tried. as always thank you! and please review!


	15. of Bath Houses and Clan Houses

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Yay! part two of the double update, things actually start moving towards the rest of the plot in this chapter, so look forward to it. ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: None, since I did them last chapter.

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 15**

"Again"

Sukasu watched her breathless companion with a mix of concern and admiration. "Are you sure? If we continue I don't think you'll be able to make it home."

"Then I'll just stay the night, you don't mind right?" Neji replied from the other side of the pool. "Besides this is supposed to be helping both of us. If I stop now you don't get to improve either."

Sukasu regarded him with a contemplative expression. "You look like you about to fall over."

"Am I going to die anytime soon?"

"...No"

"Then let's continue."

Sukasu nodded her head and positioned herself to continue her assault.

"You're going too slow," She said when she managed to rip through his rotation yet again.

"This would be easier if you would stop switching sides at the last minute." Neji bit out dodging a shuriken she sent his way.

"Well it's not..." Sukasu managed to get behind Neji and send a kick towards his legs "...Supposed..." He blocked the move and retaliated with his gentle fist.

"…To be easy." Sukasu dodged and rolled away from Neji.

"Speed up the rate at which you move your center."

"That will deplete my chakra. I thought you didn't want me to do that yet?" Neji asked.

"We've been doing this, what over a month now? I think you can handle it." Sukasu said moving towards him once more. "Besides," She stopped a few feet in front of him. "I want to see how well you do against some of my other jutsu's."

She disappeared.

"Flower style: Tree of a Thousand years-Blossom."

A sakura tree appeared in middle of the pool, it's gnarled branches almost bare as the blossoms scattered around the clearing.

"Well this is new." Neji slid into his normal fighting stance. _Now where'd she go?_

"You're center, Neji."

"I got it." Neji closed his eyes and focused on the slow moving ball of chakra inside him.

He had been moving it at a steady pace to keep up with Sukasu earlier. But he speed it up to an almost unthinkable speed. He felt his chakra drop immediately.

"You're still not appearing." He said his voice laced with the strain of losing such a large amount of chakra, in such a short amount of time.

"I'm not supposed to," she answered from somewhere to the right of him.

"Then what am I supposed to be seeing?"

"My jutsu, do you see it?"

"Yes...but I would have seen it anyway," He added as an afterthought.

He heard her sigh and opened his eyes. Looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, he could see she looked disappointed.

"Can you speed it up a little more?"

"Yeah."

Sukasu watched him for a second before she placed a hand on his shoulder. Chakra began to flow into him from her immediately.

"So you don't exhaust yourself too much, I want you up before dinner." She answered his unspoken question.

"You guys tend to be a little more reckless during training."

She was referring to him and Naruto.

Neji rolled his eyes at her, before focusing in his center once more; and speeding it up for a second time.

"Do you see it?" She asked.

Neji searched. Desperately trying to see what she wanted him to, then.

_There_, in the midst of all the swirling petals a single flower remained intact on one of the branches of the tree. It was slightly darker in color than the other petals.

"Yes."

"Good." Sukasu dispelled the jutsu.

Neji deactivated his Byakugan. "What was that?" He asked.

"That," Sukasu answered removing her palm from his shoulder. "Is the Thousand Years Tree, my most valuable jutsu."

"Really?" Neji asked, swaying slightly when the chakra he was borrowing suddenly vanished.

"Yes, it's not only my longest attack range on offense but it serves as a great defense too. I can protect myself...inside the tree," She explained.

"Oh" was all Neji said as he fell forward, and into Sukasu's waiting arms.

"Yeah, now sleep, you're tired. I'll make sure to get you inside," Sukasu said softly.

Neji didn't respond.

"Hn, Fool." _But I guess I'm a fool too._

* * *

When Neji awoke. In the dark, he was on Sukasu's bed. She wasn't there. But he was used to this. It had become normal.

This was their usual routine. When they weren't out on missions they would train together. A lot of times he would overdo it and pass out. He would wake up in her bed, wince at every single move he made, and make his way to the kitchen. Where she would be, undoubtedly, making dinner or breakfast, or lunch.

He didn't greet Sukasu as he entered the kitchen. She knew he was there.

The complete opposite of him she never passed out and could stand for hours after a workout, still moving with all the fluidity and grace she possessed.

That wasn't the case though, when she trained with both him and Naruto. For some reason she always managed to reduce herself to a crawling mess of limbs after she trained with them.

But he had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she somehow managed to drive herself into the ground multiple times over with the jutsu she was learning. However, just like any other time, the next day she was walking around like it never happened.

It had been a never ending mystery to him until a little while ago.

Once, after a particularly strenuous workout that left him knocked out till the next afternoon. He had asked how she managed to remain relatively unaffected each and every time they trained.

She had answered his question with a simple. "I'm not as reckless and I take a bath."

"Are you implying that I don't bathe?" He asked with an incredulous look upon his face.

"No, I'm saying that I simply bathe in my bath."

"Is your bath somehow different? Does it have healing properties or something?"

"Or something." Was her only response, she then proceeded to continue making lunch.

That conversation had only heightened his curiosity and he promptly went to go try this 'miracle bath'. She however wouldn't allow it and always led him away whenever he got close.

"You should take a bath."

Sukasu's voice shook him from his reverie.

"What?"

"You. Should take a bath," She repeated turning away from the counter.

"I thought you were trying to keep me as far away from your bath as possible?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

Her cheeks turned pink at the comment and she ducked her head. "Yeah, well, I had to get it ready."

The words were mumbled so he almost didn't hear what she said.

"Ready for what?"

Well she looked up biting her lip. "I had to clean it and stuff; and I had to go out and buy more soaps and shampoos since everything in there is mine and..." She began to tick things off on her fingers.

"Okay I got it." Neji held his hands up in mock surrender.

A look of relief washed over Sukasu's face. "Oh, Great," she said.

Neji watched her expectantly.

Sukasu blinked. "Er, Right! So, dinner won't be ready for a while, you should probably take a bath now."

Neji nodded his assent.

"Um" Sukasu checked whatever she was cooking to make sure it was okay. After turning down the heat under one of the pots, she turned back to him. He was already standing at the door.

She sidled past him and turned down the hallway, away from her bedroom. "This way," she said.

"I thought the bathroom was next to your room?" Neji asked.

"It is, but that's my regular bathroom, the bath I'm taking you to is my hot springs bath."

"You have a hot spring?" again, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, but this hot spring is a little…special."

"Special? How?"

"You'll see." he could hear the smile in her words.

Neji sighed; _She's determined to keep this a secret until the very last minute, isn't she?_

He was right. Sukasu didn't say a word, until they reached a lone door at the end of the hallway.

"This is it." She sounded excited, as she pushed open the door and walked in. Neji followed at her heels.

"So what do you think?"

Neji let his eyes survey the room. When she said hot spring she wasn't kidding. The water steamed in the semi-enclosed room. There were stools placed to the side for rinsing and shelves full of towels there were baskets for clothes and robes hanging on racks near the door. Off to the side was a basket full of soaps, shampoos and body washes of all different kinds.

The end of the room was open to allow fresh air and housed the actual hot spring. It was surrounded by rocks with paintings of koi and various Japanese flowers. There was even a divider across the entire room to allow multiple people of opposite genders to bath at the same time.

Neji blinked. "It's definitely a hot spring."

Sukasu smiled. She knew that was the best she would get from him, so she didn't push it. She knew what he really wanted to know anyway.

"The water's chakra infused."

Neji nodded that would explain her almost instant recovery.

Sukasu nodded; "Well I have to go finish dinner, so I'm leaving. The towels are over there, and oh, yeah don't take too long, it is a hot spring so I don't want to have to come back here and drag your dehydrated body out of the water," She warned.

"Wow, you'd make a great onsen hostess" he responded sarcastically.

"I try." She retorted walking back into the hallway.

"You sure you don't want to join me?" he called out after her.

She poked her head back in and said with a wink and a laugh "Maybe next time."

He could hear her laughter echoing down the hallway as she walked away. He smirked, "Next time, Huh?"

Undressing her grabbed the basket of soaps and headed towards the stool on the side. He eyed the divider as he passed it. This room is big enough for at least 20 people, but so far I'm sure she and I are the only ones who have used it.

It's lonely, I'm sure she can feel it, even with both me and Naruto around, it's not like she's going to invite just us in here. Were both guys so that's a moot point, she needs someone she can talk to that can understand her from a female perspective. Someone she can talk to who won't readily judge, someone who she can invite here without it being awkward.

Neji's thoughts floated back to when he had promised himself he would bring Hinata here.

Sliding into the water he spoke out loud, "I'll bring her tomorrow."

* * *

"You're bringing another friend? Who?" Sukasu asked sitting up in bed.

"Well actually she's my cousin, she's quiet and kind of modest, but I think you'll like her." Neji said from across the room, as he pulled his shirt on.

"Another Hyuuga?"

"Yeah, but unlike me she's from the main branch…" he noticed Sukasu turn pale at his words. "Is something wrong?"

Sukasu looked at him her face a mix of emotion before it went blank. She shook her head vigorously when she realized he was still waiting for an answer. "N-No, nothing at all, I look forward to meeting your cousin." She said quickly, her hands gripped the bed sheets.

Neji's eyes narrowed when he realized she was looking anywhere in the room but him.

"So when will you be back?" she asked, looking at the bookshelf.

"Probably by this afternoon." He responded, still watching her.

"Hm," she was looking at the lamp now.

Neji sighed. "Sukasu" he moved to the edge of the bed and sat down.

She turned to face him, finally.

"Is there something you want to say?" he asked.

"No, why?" she asked her face blank.

"You just seem…upset, about something?" he replied watching her reaction carefully.

Something flitted across her face. _Was that…fear? _But it was gone the second it came; her face was closed off again.

"I'm not upset" her response was almost robotic, and Neji wasn't convinced at all; however, he decided to leave it be for the moment. It was getting late and he had to return to the compound before they sent out a search party to look for him.

He sighed once more, "Fine, I'll be back later."

Sukasu nodded her eyes were distant now. Whatever she was thinking about she obviously wasn't going to share it anytime soon.

Neji just shook his head at her stubbornness and left.

As soon as he left Sukasu seemed to come to her senses, exhaling through her nose she leaned back against the headboard. "From the main branch, ka?"

_Green._

* * *

When Neji entered the compound Hisashi Hyuuga was waiting.

"Neji," he greeted.

"Hisashi-sama" Neji replied bowing his head. _What's he doing here?_

"You're back late." Hisashi stated.

Neji looked up "I was training, Sir"

"All night?" Hisashi asked, his tone was questioning but Neji could hear the slight accusation in it. If he had been training all night why did he look like he had been on vacation for a week? There was absolutely no evidence of his training, all of it had been washed away in the hot spring the night before.

"Yes, Sir" Neji looked him in the eye.

Hisashi raised in eyebrow, "Come." He said turning back towards the main house.

Neji followed his steps wary; He wondered what his uncle was thinking.

He followed him through the house, past the courtyard, and into a side room where Hisashi took a seat. There was a tray of tea in front of him, apparently this had been planned.

"Sit"

Neji closed the door behind him and sat down in front of his uncle.

Hisashi watched Neji with an indescribable expression upon his face, it fell somewhere between sad and stern. "Tea?" he offered.

Neji shook his head silently refusing the offer. It was quiet for a minute while Hisashi poured his own tea and took a sip. "It seems to me that you've been coming home late recently, aside from missions of course." Hisashi added placing his cup down.

Neji regarded Hisashi, his eyes hard. "I was training, sir."

"Yes, I understand that," Hisashi said leveling Neji with a look "but for so long? And where? Nobody seems to know where you are when I ask them, you're obviously not training at the training grounds, not even you're old team knows where you run off to."

Neji looked down, "I was training with a friend." He answered, "In a place separate from the training grounds." He didn't know why but it felt wrong to disclose Sukasu's information to his uncle, something felt off.

Hisashi took another sip of his tea. "Separate from the training grounds?" he asked.

Neji looked up, something about the way he asked the question and his eyes told him. He knew he knew where he was and exactly who he had been training with; he was just waiting for Neji to confirm it. "Yes"

There. That was his confirmation, Hisashi's face changed immediately; it was angry, no not angry, furious, but not with him.

"Neji," he said slowly "Do you know what you've gotten yourself into? Do you understand what you're doing?"

Neji's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure I know exactly what you mean…Sir"

Hisashi exhaled, "That girl is dangerous Neji, I would advise you to stay away from her." He seemed to be almost pleading with him.

"Sukasu? Dangerous?" Sure in battle yeah, but as his friend…or whatever they were, she had never shown any type of hostility towards him of some ulterior motive, there was none there.

"So I see you're on friendly terms with the girl." Hisashi looked saddened by this fact.

"Sir?"

Hisashi seemed to make up his mind about something, "Neji you are no longer allowed to visit this friend of yours, do not take this the wrong way, it is for your own safety. If you do visit there will be consequences."

_Visit? Consequences? No longer allowed?_ Neji felt himself becoming angry. _Who was he to say who he could and could not associate with? He didn't even know Sukasu and he was calling her dangerous and forbidding him from seeing her. What type of bullshit was this?_

"Excuse me, _Sir_ but is there a reason for this?" Neji asked with barely concealed anger, placing an emphasis on the word "sir"

"Hm, yes but as of now it shouldn't concern you."

"Excuse me for speaking out of line, but I believe that anything involving Sukasu and whether or not I can see her, based on some preconceived idea that you have, concerns me." Neji was shaking he wanted so bad to just get up and punch his uncle for saying such things but knew he would just be taken down instantly and mercilessly if he did.

"You're right, but for right know this a matter between me and the girl, and it is something you should not get involved in, therefore I will tell you, but later. For now please just retire to your rooms, I heard you have a mission tomorrow so you should rest, and also Hinata was looking for you, perhaps you could spar with her later." It wasn't a suggestion but an order. Hisashi was ordering him to abandon the topic and had effectively done it as the head of the clan; Neji had no choice but to obey.

"Yes, sir" Neji replied through clenched teeth, he walked out not even bothering to close the door behind him.

"Keep any eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything rash." Hisashi said to the figure that had appeared behind him.

"Yes…Hisashi-sama"

* * *

Neji slammed the door to his room, not caring if the door splintered or not, and threw himself on his bed. "What type of fucked up shit is this?" He muttered under his breath, turning onto his side. "What the hell is going on anyway?" He asked no one in particular. An image of Sukasu's blank face flashed through his mind. And what's she hiding?

He was broken out of his thoughts by a hesitant knock on the door. As a rule no one used the Byakugan inside the compound, but he didn't need it to know who it was. "Come in" he called out.

He heard the door open and close silently. "Hinata" He greeted quietly.

"Neji nii-san"

A/N: To clear up any confusion some people might have the conversation Neji has with both Sukasu and Hisashi takes place the next morning, Neji did spend the night at Sukasu's what they did is up to you *wink wink* as for everything else this mysterious thing between Sukasu and the Hyuuga will be explained I promise, all in due time. also other announcement's since I did this double update I probably won't be updating this Thursday, due to my brain not being able to take the stress. (I had a major headache by the end of this.) but if I am able to update I might but probably not so don't get you're hopes up. by the way anyone notice my Dengeki Daisy reference last chapter? I love that manga! it's the best. anywho next chapter will be up soon...I hope. As always, thank you! and please review!


	16. Hinata

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Okay so I have no real reason for my extreme lateness with this chapter, **SORRY! **If anything chalk it up to major writers block, the ending of Naruto, the manga (I cried for two days) and school, after being out for two weeks it was really stressful trying to go back and complete all my work so I didn't have much time to think about writing, but the bright side is that I had half the chapter already written out so as soon as I had the chance I finished it and now I'm posting, so yay! it also helped that my birthday was yesterday and I wanted to get this done for all of you who are patiently waiting for this chapter, especially after the last chapter, anyway without further ado ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: So for everyone who reviewed, favorite and followed after last chapters update, thank you! **WMaldonado89** and **junebaby92** for reviewing, **GlaresThatKill** for following, **gninfinity** and **maddoxbaker3** for favorite-ting, and **danisaur922** and **Silentmagician1** for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 16**

Hinata silently closed the door to her cousin's room, and stepped inside.

"Hinata" Neji greeted her quietly, his back was to her.

"Neji nii-san" she replied softly, moving further into the room.

Neji didn't acknowledge her approach choosing to remain on his side. Hinata moved to the center of the room and sank to her knees. She kneeled in front of him; no words left her mouth, he didn't speak.

The silence stretched between them like ice as the minutes slid by.

"I'm sorry"

Two words broke through the ice smashing it to pieces. Neji stirred from his position on the bed. Rolling over he sat up, facing his cousin. "Hinata?" he questioned.

Hinata bowed her head, "I'm sorry," she repeated. Her hands gripped the fabric of her pants as she continued. "b-because of my f-father…you…"

"And why are you apologizing?" Neji cut her off his voice sharp. "Why are you apologizing for something he did?

"I-i…"

"Furthermore, this is in no way your fault, so you have no reason to feel responsible." Neji added before she had a chance to respond.

"Bu-But I…but if it wasn't for me then father would have never done something like this…"

Neji sighed, crossing his arms, as mad as he was he had no right to take it out on his cousin and surrogate sister. More still, he hated to see her blame herself over something that obviously had nothing to do with her.

"Hinata…"

Hinata was still rambling, berating herself in her apology. Somehow she had managed to get to the point of saying she had never done anything noteworthy in her life, which was entirely untrue, and Neji knew this.

He felt a pain in his chest at the thought that he had done nothing to help her see herself as more in the past and it was showing now. _I guess this is a part of my punishment in life._

Hinata was still going.

"Hinata…" Neji tried again.

No such luck, she couldn't hear him.

"Hinata!"

Hinata ceased speaking immediately, and silence filled the room once more.

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose; he felt a headache coming on.

"Hinata," Neji began again moving off the bed to kneel in front of her. "Like I said before, it's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself.

She wanted to deny it. He could see it in her eyes, but he wouldn't let her.

"Hinata if this really and truly was your fault, do you think I would stop you from what you were doing just now? Do you think I would be trying so hard to make you understand that I'm not mad at you? Really, if anything it was my fault it ended up like this anyway."

Hinata was quiet as she let the words process, as her eyes began to clear in understanding she immediately began to shake her head.

"No, No, No, Ni-san, it's not your fault. I was the one who mentioned to father that I wasn't training with you as often because you were out with a friend and training with them. To which father wanted to know which friend; and when I couldn't tell him he became worried. Father just went overboard." Hinata tried again.

Neji sighed inwardly. There was just no getting through to her. "And that's why I'm telling you it's my fault if I had told him where I was going it might have turned out differently." _Although the way he spoke it was as if he knows Sukasu, so then again it probably would have turned out the same. But Hinata doesn't need to know that._

He noticed Hinata open her mouth to reply, he held up a finger to stop her. He was tired of listening to her misplaced apologies. "Hinata if you really feel that bad about it, will you do me a favor?"

Hinata immediately shut her mouth and nodded.

"This friend that I'm banned from meeting, I had promised her that I would be back this afternoon, with you," He added. "But as you can see I can't exactly make it. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Hinata nodded quickly.

"Well even though one of us can't make it the other can so I was wondering if you would go see them, and perhaps mention to them why I can't come."

Hinata nodded again, she would do anything to please her cousin; and not just him it was to anyone she felt indebted to really.

"Good" Neji leaned forward and whispered something to her before pulling away and going back to his bed. Hinata however remained frozen in her position on the floor. Whatever Neji had said had shocked her. It wasn't until she heard the bed frame creak as Neji sat down on it that she was broken out of her frozen state.

The sound shoot across the room towards her and she was immediately standing and heading towards the door.

Neji watched her with a slightly amused expression, when she got to the door he called out to her "Hinata"

Hinata paused, one hand on the door

Neji waited until he was sure she was listening "My friend, she's a girl"

Hinata jumped, gave a jerky nod and was off, scurrying down the hall towards the main entrance.

* * *

Sukasu sneezed. "Ah, what the hell? I know I'm not getting a cold."

"No, but maybe someone's talking about you," Her companion said from his place at her table.

"Shut up, Kakashi" Sukasu retorted half-heartedly falling into the chair across from him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Kakashi ignored her question and continued on with what he was saying.

"It's true though; there are a lot of people who could be talking about you at this moment," He said half-jokingly. "But not all of it good" he added almost as an afterthought, but the warning in his words implied that he had been thinking about it for a while.

"I know that," Sukasu replied slumping forward onto the table.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow taking in his friend's obvious distress; it was rare for her to show so much weakness in front of anyone, even him. Usually she tried to put on a brave front, but lately she had been more and more forward in her emotions. "Did something happen?" he asked voicing the question that had been running circles around his mind for the past few weeks.

"Nothing much," Sukasu mumbled turning her head to the side, away from him. "Unless you count Neji wanting to bring his cousin to meet me," She added louder.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked. He had heard her perfectly and Sukasu knew it; she didn't respond.

He sighed. "Sukasu…"

"I know I know; it's not the best idea for her to meet me." Sukasu uttered his unvoiced concerns before he could.

"Yes," Kakashi drew the word out almost as if he was stalling for time, "but that wasn't what I was going to say."

"It wasn't?" Sukasu asked raising a curious eyebrow at him "Then what were you going to say?"

Kakashi was silent for a minute, trying to think of the best way to break the news to her without it costing him a few limbs.

"Kakashi" Sukasu almost whined thinking he was messing with her. She reached across the table to tug on his arm

Kakashi turned his one eye to her, searching her face for something. Whatever he saw it was enough to say the next words that came out of his mouth. "I don't think she'll be coming."

Sukasu sat back in her chair. "What do you mean?"

"Sukasu, Hisashi found out."

Sukasu's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" she repeated.

"I mean he found out" Kakashi said patiently, saying the words slowly waiting for them to sink in. "About Neji…and you"

"Like everything?" Sukasu asked. She seemed to be struggling with this little piece of information.

"Well I don't know about everything," Kakashi replied going back to reading his novel when he was sure she wasn't going to rampage on him. _Instead she doing quite the opposite, _he thought to himself. "But he certainly knows about you _socializing_ with him and the like; which is why I was saying you shouldn't expect either of them back here any time soon."

Sukasu seemed to shrink in front of him, "so soon?" she whispered more to herself than him.

Kakashi nodded. "But in your defense, you did manage to keep him unassuming for quite a long time."

"Thanks because that helps," Sukasu replied venomously "Well this jacks up every single plan I've had up to this moment." Sukasu gave a heavy sigh at the thought.

"You had plans?" Kakashi gave her an incredulous look.

"No, I was going through this whole thing blind. I had no plans what so ever." Sukasu said sarcastically.

Kakashi held up his hands in mock surrender "okay okay I wasn't trying to demote your intelligence or anything, it was just…unexpected." He tried searching for the right words to explain his thinking.

Sukasu glared at him, "And why is it unexpected? This is me we're talking about right?"

"Exactly" Kakashi responded, dodging her real question.

Sukasu continued to set him on fire with her eyes, wondering if she could burn the answer out of him.

"Kakashi?" Sukasu said with the brightest possible smile she could muster.

"Yes?" he asked wonder when was the best time to start running.

"Go to hell," she ground out through gritted teeth, forcefully slamming his head into the table. But as soon as she did his entire body went up in a puff of smoke. "Shit!" she shouted looking up from the clone and into the living room where Kakashi had escaped to. "Get back here Kakashi!" she yelled.

"When hell freezes over!" he called back to her bolting out of the living room and down the hallway. "Until then you're going to have to try and catch me Kitten-chan!"

Sukasu growled at the use of her hated nickname, and proceeded to chase after him; throwing a couple utensils at him as she went.

They continued to run around the house, Kakashi doing his best to dodge anything Sukasu threw at him and any piece of furniture that happened to be in his way, while Sukasu chased him.

It was when the murderous intent had left Sukasu's mind and they were merely playing a friendly, albeit dangerous game of tag, that she felt it.

Sukasu paused; one hand outstretched towards Kakashi in an attempt to grab him and pummel him into the ground therefore signifying him being it, and then running away before he had time to catch her and return the favor.

Kakashi stopped running and looked over his shoulder at Sukasu when he sensed her lack of movement. "Kitten-chan?" he asked his one eye showing concern.

Sukasu blinked slowly, at the sound of his voice.

She slowly retracted her hand and stood up, a smile spread lazily across her face, she chuckled. "Hm Kakashi-ni it seems you were wrong." She said using her own pet name for him, one she only used when she felt she had beaten him at something.

"What?" Kakashi asked confused, _what the hell is she talking about?_

"It seems one of them has appeared, and has approached the barrier," she clarified.

"Oh" Kakashi's face cleared in understanding. "Only one though?"

Sukasu nodded her head as she turned away from him "well, one or both I guess I should go greet them."

"But what if it's…" Kakashi started.

Sukasu held up a hand to stop him, "It's not, I would recognize his chakra. But if you're so worried come with me."

"I'll pass it wouldn't be good if he saw me here."

"Meaning you're going to hide in the trees and watch from the shadows?" Sukasu asked her back to him.

Only silence met her question, Kakashi was gone.

Sukasu let out a weary sigh, "oh well, do what you feel is best." She said to the air around her, and then she too disappeared.

* * *

Appearing in front of certain section of the barrier; she opened it, much to the surprise of the girl on the other side who had moments before been staring at a tree.

"Oh" Hinata exclaimed stumbling backwards onto her butt as the barrier dissipated, to reveal the girl beyond it.

Sukasu placed a hand on her hip as she regarded the purple haired girl in front of her. "I assume you're the cousin." She said unceremoniously.

Hinata immediately scrambled back to her feet to bow to the girl in front of her. "H-hello, my n-name is Hyuuga H-hinata, it's a pleasure to m-meet you."

Sukasu waved off her greeting, "Please don't be so formal, I've been expecting you come on in, I was told you're going to be my new friend by that idiot cousin of yours."

Hinata bristled when Sukasu referred to her cousin as an 'idiot' her previous nervousness dissipated as she decided to correct the teen "Neji nii-san is **not** an idiot." She said with no hint of her previous stutter.

Sukasu chuckled at her statement. "I was joking," she said offering Hinata an apologetic smile. "I know he's not an idiot, although he can certainly act like one when need be."

Hinata relaxed a little at her words; but not fully she still wasn't entirely sure if she liked this girl yet, and she could never be too careful entering unfamiliar territory.

Sukasu noticed this and decide to alleviate a little of her apprehension by bringing in someone she would be familiar and partially comfortable with. "You can see it's just Hinata so you can come out now," She called to seemingly no one in particular.

Hinata looked over at Sukasu in confusion, "Excuse me, but who are you talking to?" she asked hoping she wasn't treading on anything she wasn't supposed to with the question.

Sukasu turned her head to wink at her before returning her focus to a tree off to the right of them.

Hinata followed her gaze to the trunk of the tree where seconds before there had been nothing, there now stood Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata called out in surprise, she wasn't aware that he knew this girl her cousin spoke so highly of.

"Yo, Hinata!" Kakashi greeted her with a mock salute of two fingers.

Sukasu felt Hinata relax immediately as soon as Kakashi appeared, and smiled to herself. Neji was right, Hinata interested her, and she wouldn't mind having someone like her as a friend_. If I ever get out of this mess I'm in now_, Sukasu berated herself bitterly.

She allowed some time for Kakashi to put Hinata at ease before addressing her again "Hinata even though I was expecting you I was assuming Neji was coming with you, is there a reason for that?" Sukasu asked, assuming a slightly clueless air about her as she asked the question. _Ease her into it, assume nothing, let her answer at her own pace…_ she repeated like a mantra in her head.

Hinata seemed startled when Sukasu began speaking to her again, she blushed, embarrassed, when she realized that she had almost entirely forgotten about her.

_Hm, Kakashi's done his job a little too well._ Sukasu thought to herself as she noted Hinata's reddening face.

Hinata's face slowly became paler as she slowly realized what Sukasu had asked her.

Sukasu noticed her expression changing from one of embarrassment to one of fear and decided to save herself from an awkward situation. "Um, before that, would you like to come inside for tea?" she offered changing her approach entirely.

Hinata nodded her head vigorously, at the invitation, and followed close behind Sukasu as they made their way inside.

Motioning for her to take a seat at the table as she made tea, Sukasu gave the girl some space to collect her thoughts.

Placing the steaming cup of tea in front of her Sukasu sat on the counter facing her. She waited patiently while Hinata took a sip and steadied herself before leveling her with an expectant look.

Hinata lowered the cup to the table with a stifling slowness as she returned Sukasu's look with a sad one of her own.

"Neji ni-san couldn't make it because he's been locked away."

A/N: So, new chapter yay! I hope no one kills me for where it left off considering my awful update schedule lately. You all must hate me, but don't worry I will update! I can't say it will be every single week just yet, but I will update! anyway look forward to next chapter. as always thank you! and please review!


	17. Breaking News

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So, as promised to my wonderful reviewers, tis the end of the week and I have updated. it would have been earlier had my computer not decided to crash on me, but I managed to get it fixed (along with a couple of other things) I don't know how everyone will take this chapter, but I'll assume they'll like it 'cuz they're more backstory and who doesn't love backstory? (looks from side to side) Aww, come on guys I guarantee it's interesting, it actually answers a few unanswered questions regarding the Hana so I beseech you, please read! so without further ado ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: So for everyone who reviewed, favorite and followed after last chapter update, thank you! **WMaldonado89** for reviewing, **cathyscloud9 **for reviewing, favorite-ting and following, a big T**hank You** to you! **DeannosaurusRex** and **Strife666** for following, and **RhiRhi2510 **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 17**

Sukasu regarded Hinata quietly. She didn't say a word, while her brain processed this new information.

_Yes, she had known that Hisashi had found out, hell, she had just been told by Kakashi less than two hours before._

_Yes, she knew that Hisashi would take measures against her, that was obvious, but to lock away his own nephew?_

Sukasu's yes grew steadily darker in her anger, to the point where they were almost black.

Hinata shifted uncomfortably, trying to remove herself from under Sukasu's intense gaze.

"Umm"

Sukasu's eyes seemed harden for a minute before she registered the confused and slightly frightened face in front of her, she blinked. Her eyes shifted off of Hinata's face as she glanced towards Kakashi. He wasn't looking in their direction but she knew he was paying attention.

Her eyes went back to Hinata.

"Oh"

The word shot threw the silence, of the room like a bullet.

"Oh" Hinata repeated.

Kakashi just turned his head slightly in their direction at her response.

Sukasu's head dropped slightly, so that her bangs covered part of her face, and she muttered something unintelligible.

"Um, excuse me…" Hinata said uncertainly, reaching out a hand towards Sukasu, "Are you…"

Letting her uncertainty get the best of her she retracted her hand, and placed it quietly in her lap. "Could you repeat that?"

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Hinata couldn't stop the question from slipping off her tongue and out her mouth. "Why are you apologizing?" she clarified after her embarrassment had passed.

She was strangely comfortable around this girl, so nothing seemed as bad or embarrassing as it usually did.

Sukasu seemed troubled for a moment, her mouth formed a thin line and it seemed as if she was concentrating intensely on a response.

He face cleared when she found something. "Why? For causing you trouble of course."

Kakashi glanced at her, the question clear in his eyes that was the best response you could think of?

Hinata just stared. "Umm, it's no trouble, so you don't have to apologize." Hinata blushed, "Actually Neji nii-san asked me to come, because I felt bad since it was my fault that this even happened."

Sukasu, who had been watching Hinata with a slightly amused smirk at her blush, leveled her with a scrutinizing stare.

"What do you mean 'it's your fault'?" she asked, with an unreadable expression.

Hinata noticed her expression change and instantly became aware of what she had just let slip. "Well," she began slowly, "When Father asked me why I wasn't training as much with Nii-san I couldn't really answer him properly and he got suspicious, Nii-san told me not to worry about it but…" she trailed off.

Sukasu visibly relaxed. Chuckling, she sank back into her chair, bringing her hand up to brush some of her hair away from her face. "Geez, don't scare me like that" an apologetic smile forming on her face.

_I don't think you were necessarily scared,_ Kakashi thought with a disbelieving look on his face; as he turned back to the book he was reading once he was sure she wouldn't kill the girl.

"You should listen to your cousin, he's right; it's not your fault no matter how much you think it is. Your father probably would have found out sooner or later." Sukasu continued, explaining herself further.

Hinata cocked her head to the side. "Why do you say that?"

Sukasu realized her mistake the minute she asked the question. Hinata didn't know about the bad blood between their two clans, and between herself and the current head. Which, also meant she wouldn't know about the suspicion that was constantly placed on her and her involvement in the village, particularly her interactions with the Hyuuga. _Well she is supposed to be the next head; she's going to have to know sooner or later, I just hope I'm forgiven for this._

Sukasu looked up from the table at Kakashi, he understood her thoughts as always, and gave his consent by shrugging and turning to walk out the room to give them more privacy.

Hinata was still waiting patiently for Sukasu's answer and she hadn't failed to notice the exchange between her crush's old sensei and Sukasu. It was just one more reason for Sukasu to tell her everything she was about to.

Sukasu sighed; everything seemed to be falling apart faster than it came together. _But I signed up for this, I've made my decision and it's not like I can turn back now, I have too much blood on my hands for that._

Sukasu faced Hinata with a new determination "the answer to that question, might take a while, are you sure you want to know?"

For a second, Sukasu worried that Hinata would turn down her offer, but the girl had more guts that she let on.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes, I'll sit through your entire response. Besides," Hinata let out a small smile, her first since coming through the barrier. "I feel that I have to hear what you to what you have to say, or else I'll regret it later."

Sukasu returned her smile, with a nod. "Alright, but I have to warn you some things might hurt or offend you, but I ask that you keep you thought's to yourself, at least until I'm finished."

Hinata nodded

"Good, then I'll begin."

* * *

"If I want to fully answer your question I have to start at the beginning," Sukasu paused. "You know of my background already right?" she asked.

Hinata nodded her confirmation "Neji nii-san told me."

"Okay that makes this easier, like I said I have to start at the beginning, with the creation of what is known as the Hana today."

"A long time ago there was young woman who lived by herself in the woods. No one knew how she came to be, no one knew of her parents, her age, or how she ended up where she was, not even her. It was almost as if she had been grown out of the earth itself, a blooming flower in the wilderness."

"They say her first memory was of the sun, I don't know how true that is, but that's beside the point."

"A blooming flower and a beautiful one at that, her long silver hair that reached the ground and flowed and swirled in a nonexistent wind; which could compare to no one. Her deep purple eyes that reflected the entire world and made it seem a hundred times more beautiful. She shown with the brilliance of a rose, but had the delicateness of a cherry blossom. She was in every aspect as beautiful as legends, but there was another side to her that some say could outshine her beauty."

"It was her ability, a strange power that only she possessed. The flower style." Sukasu paused to catch her breath.

Unknowingly she had become more and more excited and had begun to speak faster and faster until she finally ran out of steam and had to stop. I was no mystery as to why. It was Noari's favorite part of the story; describing how beautiful this woman was, 'like a princess' she had said. Consequently it had become Sukasu's favorite part too, since everything after that just reminded her why she was locked away.

Once she believed herself to have calmed down she continued. "The flower style, this woman possessed was unheard of to many, only those who lived near her knew of this young woman's mysterious power, and its uses."

"As she grew older, this woman became somewhat of a healer in her home, people from the villages nearby would come to her for remedies and the like, but the main thing was her ability to bring someone back from near death with her jutsu, which was convenient for the time, and the lead in to the rest of our story."

"It was during the winter, a young boy unknowingly stumbled upon the clearing where the bishonen was residing. He was obviously a traveler, and she would learn later he was actually a part of the main family of a very prominent clan. When he found her he was hurt, ironically not from fighting but from trying to scale a rock face that led to a waterfall."

"He had managed to get so distracted by the beauty of the falling water to notice the ledge he was standing on was unstable. He managed to land himself in the bottom of a canyon and had to climb his way back out."

"He had wondered around for a couple of days before finally reaching her home."

"Not aware that she was a healer he at first was confused when she referred to him as a patient and asked him to reveal his wounds so that she could heal them properly."

"There is a whole story on the argument that happened afterward, that's taught as a lesson to young children in the clan, but it's not relevant to what we're talking about."

"In any case, after she healed him she insisted it was too dangerous for him to make the trip back home in the state he was in and the weather had begun to turn bad a few days before so no caravans would be going anywhere. It was pointless, and so she persuaded him to stay until the weather broke. It was during that time that they fell in love."

"But when the weather finally broke, he had to return to his family and she had villagers to take care of, she couldn't leave with him, and so they were forced to part. But, the man vowed to return to her someday."

"I'm sure you've already guessed by now that this young man was Hyuuga, have you not?"

Hinata used her expression to say yes, she was scared that if she opened her mouth, she would break the spell that seemed to surround the two of them, and ruin the story.

"Well, the Hyuuga at the time were very concerned with keeping the blood within the family so when the young man came back, and professed his wish to marry this unknown woman with strange powers of course he was shot down immediately, and forced into a marriage with another woman."

"Not able to bare the fact of betraying his beloved by marrying another woman, ran away, and was subsequently branded a criminal by the elders of his clan. He was cast out and all record of him removed from the records. It was like he had never existed. But that didn't stop the fact that a byakugan user had left the clan and their jutsu analyzed so secretly they kept tabs on him. This event thus began the bad blood between our two houses."

"The elder's believed that this strange flower style user had somehow managed to bewitch one of their own and seduce him, for her own plans, they tried to have her killed on many occasions but, to no avail the man defended her till the end. He was eventually killed with an arrow to the heart, leaving the young woman to care for their newborn child on her own. But soon she too passed as the pain of losing her love was too great and like a flower with no water she withered away and died."

"The child by this time had grown up enough to survive in the world. And so left the place of his parent's deaths and made his way on his own; however, he carried a heavy pain in his heart. He knew who had caused the death of his parents and even though he had never met his father he vowed that he fight for the clan recognition as a member of the Hyuuga."

"He spent time travelling and solidifying his plans before 5 years later he stood at the Hyuuga's door. He was not welcomed as his silver hair was a dead giveaway that he was the child of the flower style. They turned him away and refused to recognize him even once no matter how hard he tried."

"It was only after he was awakened in his bed with an assassin above him that he finally realized they would never accept him had wished to erase him from the face of the earth, all the pent up anger rage and sorrow he had felt over the years finally broke through and his anger knew no bounds."

"He vowed that he would destroy the Hyuuga right then and there; he would create his own clan, powerful enough to overthrow them and wipe them out, like they had done to his family, thus the creation of the Hana."

Sukasu stood to make more tea, continuing her tale.

"The Hana did indeed grow to be a powerful and strong clan, however they were small in number, and so the son wasn't satisfied he continued to try and expand up until he died. But his hatred lived on, it had been taught to his children and his children's children; it became our reason for being, to destroy that which causes us pain and suffering."

"So, it was when a few decades after the founder had died that a child was born. A child with pale lavender eyes, a byakugan user. This strange phenomenon was the catalyst to the chain of events that led to the exclusion and confinement of all users of the flower style."

Sukasu set two cups of tea down on the table.

"The Hyuuga of course, soon learned of the byakugan child living amongst their enemy. Not wanting the Han to have an advantage over them, they asked for the child to raise it as one of their own, offering peace between their two clans as compensation." The elders and those who wanted the fighting to stop peacefully readily agreed; however, the mother of the child would not give him up to the same clan that wouldn't accept her ancestor when he came to their door."

"The father, who saw the child as an opportunity, was against the mother's decision and tried to secretly spirit the child away."

"The mother found out, though and quickly took the child and fled the clan. Her husband was enraged at her actions and immediately set out after her. The woman managed to hide for a long time, before her husband finally found her at an abandoned shack near a cliff. Now the child was old enough to walk, and run, and play, and so they were playing when the father and some of his men came upon them. Immediately the mother began to fight both him and the men to protect her child. Startled and frightened by the fighting and strange people the young child tried to run away but slipped and fell."

"The father who saw his chance pushed the woman aside and ran for the child, but the woman was a flower style user and used one of her jutsu to try and drag him back towards her. The child on the other hand had become more frightened and ended slipping off the edge of the cliff."

"desperate to save her child she sent the vines she had meant for the father towards the child, but the father had lunged for the child as well and she ended up sending the vines straight through him in order to catch the child."

"Killing her husband to save her own child" Hinata whispered.

Sukasu nodded.

"It's sad"

"Yes, it was sad, for the flower style users of the clan."

Hinata seemed taken aback by the bitter tone in Sukasu's voice.

"Overwhelmed with grief the woman went insane, she began killing at random most of the men and in the father's party and any passersby, in the end she even killed her own child."

Hinata sucked in a breath at this new information, it was the only indication of her thoughts; otherwise she remained silent for Sukasu to continue.

"Only one man from the party survived and barely made it back to relay the new to everyone."

"The news of course shocked and saddened everyone, but it was nothing compared to the betrayal they felt when they learned that the Hyuuga had never planned to fix the bonds between the clans but had instead planned to use the child and mother as a source of leverage, and a means to cause confusion amongst the clan so that they could mount a surprise attack."

"This news only strengthened the hatred within the clan and strengthened their resolve to destroy them, but there was something else."

"The brother of the husband who was killed was in line to be the next leader of the clan, and she was so overcome by grief that he too went a little crazy. Believing the woman who had given birth to the child in the first place the reason for all of their sorrows he decided to take out his anger and sorrow on the flower style users of the clan."

"After succeeding the previous head he declared all flower style users traitors to the clan. He accused them of helping the woman escape at the most crucial of times and of murder."

"He said that, they had murder his brother, he said that if they hadn't have helped her escape his brother wouldn't have died. And that all flower style users were connected so the deed of one was the deed of the all and everyone should be punished. He even convinced everyone of non-flower style that, those with the ability were too powerful and could kill their brethren quicker and more effortlessly than the Hyuuga, and were therefore dangerous and should be locked away."

"He played on their emotions of fear and hate, lock us away forever and that has how it has been ever since, everyone born with silver hair and purple eyes was to be locked away and used as a disposable tool, for the good of the clan." Sukasu's voice turned scathing as she neared the end of her story.

"Well," Sukasu took a sip of her tea trying to calm herself. "That concludes the first part of my response. Let's continue after we eat ne?" she asked looking at the time.

"Oh, um yes, I would like that." Hinata responded after a moment, her voice sounded weird to her ears.

Sukasu lips twitched upwards. "Okay, what would you like to eat?"

A/N: So who want's the rest? *hears a chorus of me's* Great, but you're gonna half to wait for it because it's not finished yet so...Sorry. Anyway ya'll should know what's up next chapter so I'm not going to explain it. As usual, thank you! and please review! they give me life.


	18. Continuation

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So um yeah, I was going to upload this over the weekend, Friday actually, for those of you who read my author's note, but obviously that didn't happen. For reasons also mentioned in my author's note (Which I will be taking down today, since I updated). Anyways besides that point I'm back online now, with a new chapter yay! I apologize for not getting this out earlier, since it was finished. But I had time to read over it again and I decided I didn't really like some parts of the chapter so I changed them up a little, which is why I'm updating today instead of any other day I could have updated. I'm sorry, moving on this chapter is just a continuation of last chapter with a little bit of Neji, I decided he needed an appearance so that got edited too. On a side note I wonder if anyone reads these things anymore, I kind of feel like I'm typing to myself here, oh well...ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: Thanks to... **DeannosaurusRex** and **cathyscloud9 **for reviewing, **Neonbunbun, windwolf1988** and **jennyakalilshortey** for following, and again to **DeannosaurusRex**for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 18**

He sat in the dark, the silence enveloping him like a blanket. There was no one in the house, but him. He welcomed the silence, the creaking of the floorboards, the sound of wind rustling the leaves on the branches outside his window, the bleak darkness that overtook his room and blurred the lines between the walls and doors making them seem almost nonexistent. He let it overtake his mind as well, he let his mind roam free since there was no one to stop him from thinking now. He let the metaphorical walls that he had built to surround his everyday thoughts slide down until there was nothing but a blank whiteness. He let his thoughts come and go as they pleased, and he reveled in them. It was times like these where he could pretend, pretend that he was free, that there were no boundaries between him and the outside world. That there was nothing keeping him here in this room, in this house, in this….cage. It was here, it was here that he was free, free as the birds, free to spread his wings.

* * *

"Okay, one Zenzai, on the house," Sukasu said, setting the soup down with a smile.

"Um, thank you," Hinata said with a polite shyness, that stemmed from her inability to pinpoint the girls mood.

Ever since she had started cooking, it seemed as if her mood had taken a complete 180. She had even started humming, a sad but sweet tune that seemed ages old.

Hinata slid the soup to herself, but waited patiently for Sukasu to set the rest of the food on the table, out of courtesy.

But she was also curious, she was interested in all the other foods Sukasu had taken the time to prepare. Since she had only suggested the soup, she had been wondering what other dishes she would prepare.

There was rice, mackerel boiled in miso, sashimi, and even dumplings. There was also something still cooking in the oven although Hinata was unsure of what it was.

Sukasu sat down at the table, though she didn't touch her food, opting instead to fold her arms in her lap quietly.

"Go ahead," she said quietly, when she noticed Hinata hadn't moved an inch.

"Are you sure?"

Sukasu nodded, "I'll eat later, I won't be able to eat until after I've finished this story. Since this part involves me, I have to get my thoughts in order, consequently I don't have the appetite."

"Ah" Hinata said, bowing her head slightly in embarrassment. "I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," Sukasu interrupted with a wave of her hand, "Just eat."

_Her mood changed again_, Hinata thought silently spooning the soup into her mouth. It was still hot, and Hinata thought with amazement, it was possibly the best red bean soup she had had in her life.

Sukasu felt the corners of her mouth tug upwards with amusement as she watched Hinata's changing facial expressions, as she tried her cooking for the first time. It was always good to have someone appreciate her creations, and it seemed that number had increased by one, again.

She patiently waited for Hinata to have her fill before, deciding it was time to continue with the story that was their clan's intertwined history.

"Alright then, shall I continue?" she asked as soon as Hinata placed her chopsticks down.

Hinata gave a somber nod, from what she could tell this part of the story was the most important, at least for their purposes. Sukasu had eluded to as much when Hinata had inquired as to why she wanted to take a break so suddenly, even if it was for food.

Sukasu took a deep breath to steady herself "So to recap, I told you the origins of my clan and how those of the flower style came to be hated yes?"

"Yes"

"Okay, well we were used as tools, exploited and so on we were weapons in times of war and an asset in times of peace, but like I said we were locked away, and such came a time when there were no more flower style users to go around. They had all died off, obviously I don't need to elaborate as to why. But it was a long while before another child of the flower style was born again, and that unfortunate child was me."

"I was locked away from birth, and grew up in the dark, both literally and figuratively. I knew nothing, at least until a few years after I was old enough to retain memories, then I was told, not everything of course, but enough to know I wasn't leaving that god-forsaken place anytime soon."

"It was couple of years after that that the head of my clan began training me, for a mission I knew nothing about, but it was this mission that caused the mess we're in today."

"While a lot of the clan members from the past had already died off the resentment towards the Hyuuga remained; and it was the driving force of my mission. While in the past those of the flower style were trained to be exceptional medics and both to heal and kill on and off the battlefield. I was trained solely for the purpose of infiltration and assassination. Do you know why?"

Hinata mutely shook her head. she had an idea but if that was true, no she didn't want to believe it, because that would mean that the girl in front of her…

"It was so I could successfully infiltrate and wipe out the Hyuuga clan, leaving no threats to the Hana. The plan was that I would pose as a peace offering between the two clans. they give the Hyuuga their only asset, the Hana are virtually powerless, correct?"

"I was supposed to despise the Hana for what they had done to me so there would be no cause for suspicion, I would be graciously accepted into your ranks. Plus if the Hana tried to do anything, because I was now under the control of the Hyuuga they could use me against my own clan. The perfect alibi"

"But that was only a ploy, they would marry me off to a member of the clan and I would use my position to earn their trust. Then, I would wipe every last one of you clean into the ground."

The temperature of the room seemed to drop 20 degrees, and the uncomfortable feeling that Hinata had gotten when she first told Sukasu about Neji came back in full force. The air around them thickened, it was becoming increasingly hard to breath.

"I see, and who was it you were supposed to marry?"

"That, I don't really know." Sukasu turned her head away from her, her bangs covered her face, so Hinata couldn't see her expression. "The plan was obviously never completed, I'm not really clear on all the details, but I do know that shit hit the fan before the 'negotiations' could be completed."

"Anyway, this was something that only the higher ups and the head's of the clan knew about, besides me, so any hostility was effectively kept under wraps. That's why most people don't know." Sukasu answered the unspoken question in Hinata's eyes.

"As for me, after my clan was destroyed I was the only one left to take the heat. Hence why I'm not trusted around any of you. They think I'm still looking for a way to execute my clans mission, as a way of 'paying homage' to their spirits."

"To them I'm just a dog, destined to remain loyal."

"So then, all that is why my father dislikes you."

"Part of the reason, yes."

"Part?"

Sukasu gave a meek nod. "Yes, the other reason is entirely my fault."

"It was a couple of years after I had been placed under surveillance, the shinobi assigned to monitor me was hisashi-sama, your father."

At the time I didn't trust any Hyuuga ,as after the failed mission there had been many attempts on my life. So naturally with him as my 'guardian' I didn't trust him."

"Being the child I was, with the upbring I had, I tried to take his life instead."

If Hinata was surprised or anything of that matter she didn't show it, allowing Sukasu to continue.

"The Hyguua, well, I was never seen as a child anyway but, they didn't see it as the act of a traumatized child because I'm a killer first. My expulsion from the village and possible death sentence was petitioned to the Sandiame."

"I was scared at first, because I thought the Sandaime would actually consider it, since I felt I had nothing to offer and was just a burden to the village, besides at the time, he was was nothing but a killer, that's all I knew how to do really."

"But, surprisingly, the person who came to my rescue was none other than Hizashi Hyuuga, Neji's father. I don't know what he was thinking, because at the time I thought that all the Hyuuga hated me. So why would this person, the brother of the person I had attempted to kill, why was he on my side? shouldn't he have hated me the most? I didn't understand."

"He never really explained it to me either, It continues to confuse me, but I'll never be able to repay him for standing up for me, even now." Sukasu went quiet, lowering her head before continuing.

"Anyway, the Sandiame said 'No' to the petition of course, even without Hizashi-sama's help on my part. But that didn't stop them from sending assassins after me. Honestly I don't even know why they petitioned, they were planning to kill me anyway; I guess it was for the sake of appearances, I'm supposedly under the Hokage's care after all."

"But that's the other reason he dislikes me; he doesn't believe that I was just scared. He doesn't trust me, with good reason I guess." Sukasu shrugged seeming unaffected by Hisashi's attitude towards her.

"It's not that I'm not upset by the fact that he dislikes me. I can deal with that. it's just that I don't think I should be punished for things that were beyond my control. I didn't ask to be born with this power, nor did I ask to be used the way I was.I have no hostile feelings towards any of you really."

"The way I see it if it wasn't for your clan I wouldn't have a clan of my own, as twisted as that sounds." She offered Hinata a pained smile.

"So my goal in all this, despite what conjectures your father might have, was merely to make peace with your clan, not destroy it."

Sukasu stood up, taking the plate she had filled with food somewhere along the way with her, to warm up.

"And that concludes, our story. So now that you know everything, what will you do?"

Sukasu turned her head to glance over her shoulder, her eyes were cold.

* * *

He stared at the ceiling wondering how long it would take, minutes, hours, days? He wondered if she would even come at all; it's not like… he stopped thinking. She would come definitely He didn't know what other secrets she was hiding but he would find out, and when he did...he felt his gut twist in anticipation. He didn't know why he was feeling so excited, he just felt that if she came, things would change. Something was different he could feel it, something special. His thoughts began to swirl and converge on each other, _So this is what it's like in the darkness, it's only been a day but I can already feel myself slipping. Alone with your thought, I wonder if this how she felt? It's slightly comforting._

A/N: Sooo, how will Hinata answer? find out next Chapter, god I love cliff hangers. Actually no, I don't I hate them, but they're really fun to write so...ha, we now have this wonderful cliffhanger that took me all of 3 seconds to type, enjoy. Meanwhile, Neji, just...just Neji. I have nothing more to say. As always please review, and thank you!


	19. The Everything Chapter

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Oh Wow! look she updated! um after a month and a half yeah, I think I would. but why didn't you? Um, because the holidays get hectic I had exams after break, and I kind of, maybe, forgot. Yeah, sorry about that, but look! This chapter is the longest yet at 8,892 words not including the authors notes. Holy Shit! that's more than half her previous longest chapter, at a little over 4,000 words including the authors note, Wow! Okay, so how many of you could read my sarcasm? probably all of you, but all that stuff I said is true, this is the longest chapter and I did kind of forget to update due to exams and stuff but that's over know, Yay! also anyone happen to notice the title, yeah, this is called 'the everything chapter' for a reason, it literally has** EVERYTHING**, including a **LEMON**, Yeah so for those of you who don't want to read the lemon, lucky you it's the entire end to this chapter, don't worry I'll warn you, with these **000** for those of you who do want to read it be warned, it's not like the last one At All, so don't be disappointed if it's not what you wanted, besides there will be others...later. Continuing on, if you want to know why this chapter's so long it's 'cuz I had a lot of stuff to say, I actually had to cut it short, yeah you read right, there was **more, **but that will have to be left for next chapter, oh well. I also introduced a new OC hope you like her! Oh, another warning, there will be some, maybe a lot depending on how you look at it, OOCness in this chapter, but it's necessary so...ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: Thanks to... **cathyscloud9**, **Stacie8833** and **Miko Hayashi **for reviewing, **EgyptianAssassin **for favorite-ting, **lovewrath, Stacie8833** and **AnimeLover2995** for following, and to **Zzshell-butterflyZz, AysuOfTheMoonlitWater, Miko Hayashi, kaikurayami** and **NarniaUnknown**for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU! *I really hope I didn't miss anybody, if I did, Gomenasai!*

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 19**

Shisui sauntered down the hall towards the kitchen. The empty plates and bowls clattered faintly on the tray she was holding. "Three weeks, it's been three weeks and he hasn't done anything."

She placed the tray down outside the kitchen for the cooks to pick up later, as they were busy with the evening meal, and headed towards the Head's private quarters.

"So has he done anything yet?"

"No" the answer was out her mouth and across the room before she had even entered. Sliding the shoji closed behind her, she moved forward to kneel in front of Hisashi.

"he hasn't moved much, and is very cooperative. He eats all the food we give him despite knowing that it's been laced with chakra suppressors. In short he's very passive, nothing to worry about."

Shisui watched as Hisashi let out a slow breath. "That is...worrisome." He responded passively.

Shisui cocked her head to the side, her short hair just brushing her shoulders. "With all due respect sir, Didn't you want him like this? Isn't that why you're having me watch him? and now that I say he is being obedient you tell me it's worrisome? I don't understand."

Hisashi sighed, and made to stand up. "It's somewhat stuffy in here, shall I open a window?"

Shisui remained silent, watching as her employer moved across the room. She knew the question was only his way of telling her to be patient while he thought about how best to answer her.

She was not a part of the Hyuuga, they were merely her employers, so there were many things she was not privy too, and others she was not allowed to know. His answer had to reflect that but, on the flip side there were also some thing's that only she was allowed to know. It was an 'interesting' job to say the least, but it paid well and God knows she needed it.

That was the path her thoughts began to take as she waited for his response.

Hisashi stood at the window regarding the birds as the flitted in and out of the trees. The same birds that Neji was watching from his bedroom window as he waited, patiently, for his rescue.

* * *

"Alright, So let's go over this again," Sukasu said placing her pen down. "The guards change shifts between 12:31 and 12:33 while the rest of the house is having lunch. There's no immediate change because one's coming from lunch while one's going to, Correct?" Sukasu looked up at Hinata through her bangs.

When she received an approving nod from the girl she continued.

"The rest of the house isn't heavily guarded, but we have to watch out for workers and the like, namely the guard watching Neji's door." She paused again waiting for confirmation.

"Hai"

"Okay," Sukasu moved a map out from in front of her, tracing a path with her finger. "So basically from here," she marked a space on the map, "it's almost a clear shot to his room." Sukasu looked up again.

Another nod.

Sukasu released a breath she'd been holding, relaxing in her chair. "Well that take's care of the getting in. It's the getting out without being caught that's going to be the problem." She said, more for herself than for the girl sitting across from her.

They had been at this for weeks, with Hinata being her pseudo spy in the Hyuuga household for most of it. With the clan being so hard to break into and all, what with their fear of having the Byakugan stolen, there was no way she'd be able to do this on her own.

"You said his food was being laced with chakra suppressors?" Sukasu asked lifting her head up from its thrown back position in the chair.

"Yes, and he seems to be eating it, there was no false play that I could see."

Sukasu groaned throwing her head back once more. "Idiot."

Hinata shifted in her chair, she was still a little uncomfortable with Sukasu calling her beloved nii-san anything that was remotely degrading. "Well, considering the fact that he's being watched 24/7 it wouldn't do him any good to be rebellious right now." She stated quietly defending her cousin.

"Sorry," Sukasu said more out of habit than anything. There had been more than enough times in the past three weeks that Hinata had gone off on her for saying something 'mean' about her cousin. This was saying something considering her usually quiet, unassuming personality.

"But, in truth you're right. I was just saying that because it makes this plan that much harder if he can't use any chakra to help us out, and that annoys me."

"Well it would be hard anyway he's being watched all the time; and with the cage bird seal…" Hinata noted how Sukasu bristled at the words but decided to let it go and continued. "With the cage bird seal, it would be better if he just remained powerless during this," Hinata waved her hands around, "endeavor."

"Operation" Sukasu bit out "And I'm aware of that, besides it's not the seal that's annoying me it's that watch you keep mentioning. You said it's one girl?"

Hinata placed her hands down and folded them in her lap, biting her lip, she nodded. "Yes, and she's around all the time; she's the one that delivers his meals."

"Yeah I got that," Sukasu said picking up the pen and twirling it around her fingers. "It's not exactly the fact that she's around all the time but rather _who_ she is that's bothering me. If it's who I think it is, this plan could go to shit faster than you could say nii-san."

Hinata paled completely ignoring Sukasu's slight jab at her affectionate name for her cousin. "Is she really that bad?"

"She could take me out," Sukasu muttered "Given reason enough." She added as an afterthought.

"You've fought her before?"

Sukasu gave a slow nod. "Yeah, plenty of times," _we were friends once_. "She was my sparring partner at one time."

"Your...sparring partner?" Hinata was confused, for all she had been told, she was under the impression that Sukasu only had sparring partner's that doubled as guardians, _well at least until Neji nii-san came along_.

"Yeah, a long time ago." Sukasu scrunched her nose and her expression darkened, but just as soon as the expression appeared it was gone. If not for Sukasu's locked jaw, Hinata would have thought she had imagined it._ I'll take it that wasn't a happy memory._

The pen stopped twirling, "But like I was saying if she's around a lot of things could go wrong. We have a four hour lapse in between guard shifts before we can get out again. If she checks on him while I'm there…" Sukasu trailed off.

"She won't, well not if you get out at exactly the right time. If you go on the day we've been planning then she'll probably be having her meeting with my father." Hinata tried to sound reassuring.

"Yes, but the fact that she can do that while she's supposed to be watching him must mean she has some alternative way to spy on him when she's not around."

"Maybe, then again maybe not. I haven't seen anything, and I visit at least twice a week."

Sukasu's eyes narrowed, "It's that 'maybe' that could mean everything. But talking about this reminds me. Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"Positive, I put up a genjutsu and had Kiba cover for me, just to make sure."

Sukasu sighed, though she still seemed tense. "Well, no use worrying about this now," she turned around so that her back was facing Hinata and continued "especially on empty stomachs." Walking over she grabbed a pot off the stove holding it up while turning to look over her shoulder, she asked "Lunch?"

* * *

Hisashi turned away from the window to examine the young woman kneeling in front of him. Her blue eyes had an underlying sharpness to them that allowed her to cast aside her emotion when dealing with work, an excellent asset to his service.

"Shisui, have you ever rebelled against something you thought was wrong, but didn't do it...openly?"

"A silent rebellion?"

"More along the lines of a quiet one."

Shisui shook her head, "No I can't say I have, I'm actually very vocal against things I dislike."

Hisashi nodded, "Yes, I see. Well, Neji has been waging a quiet war against the main family and our use of the caged bird seal for a while now, though recently he's calmed down. So despite the fact that I did not use the seal against him three weeks ago, I did place him under house arrest, restricting his freedom. It's also quite obvious that's he's being watched so you can forgive me if I don't believe you when you say he's being 'compliant.'"

"Ah yes, I see. That would be...worrisome, as you so put it," Shisui stood, "What would you like me to do?"

"Increase your guard on him, but make it subtle. If he is up to something he'll get suspicious if we suddenly just increase the watch. Keep in mind Neji is extremely perceptive, so you must not act out of place."

"Understood; and the chakra suppressors, should we increase the amount of those too?"

"No, I don't think that's necessary at the moment."

"Alright," Shisui moved towards the door. "Will you be requiring anything else Hisashi-sama?"

"No that is all." Hisashi kneeled behind his desk, and picked up a pen, signaling that their meeting was over.

"Then, I'll be taking my leave now." Shisui bowed low and disappeared closing the door behind her.

* * *

A week later:

She hated stealth missions, but if that's all you do you tend to get good at them. No matter how much you dislike the job it's the only thing you can count on not going wrong...99% of the time anyway. This mission, though not really a mission, was one of the few 1% where she wasn't sure _what_ would happen, and that scared her.

Sukasu finished buckling the bands around her left arm, and reached for her fans on the shelf.

"Why are you taking those with you?" Hinata asked watching her from her spot on the living room floor. "You're not killing anyone are you?" She asked, a worried tinge to her voice when Sukasu didn't respond right away.

"No, I already told you, if I do happen across anyone I'll just knock them out...or try to...anyway I'm not going to kill anyone. I just feel more comfortable having these around." Sukasu looked away from Hinata focusing instead on the map spread out on the floor to the right of her.

"You're nervous." It wasn't a question.

"Oh really? How can you tell?"

"By your sarcastic remarks."

Sukasu moved her eyes away from the map to refocus on Hinata. Hinata wasn't laughing and her eyes were steady, but her face was pale.

"You too," Sukasu pointed out.

Hinata seemed ready to jump and scamper off. "What?"

"You're nervous too," She stated, combing her fingers through her hair before beginning to braid it.

"Yes, but... It's not what you think." Hinata looked away.

"Hm?" Sukasu continued braiding, not bothering to lift her head.

When Hinata's didn't respond Sukasu looked up, pausing halfway through her braid. Sukasu's eyes roamed over Hinata's now pink face.

"Hinata?"

"It's not that I'm nervous about this whole thing. I actually really believe that we'll be successful, it's just…" Hinata's began pushing her pointer fingers together, a nervous habit.

"Just what?" Sukasu asked cocking her head, confused.

"It's just...it's just…" Hinata's face was getting redder by the second. "It's just that Neji toldmetotellyousomethingwhenwefirstmetbutIcouldn't bring myself to and I'm sorry!" Hinata let out in a rush standing up.

Sukasu had her hands up, "Woah Woah Woah, slow down, what? You couldn't bring yourself to what?"

Sukasu had a slow sinking feeling in her chest, fearing it had something to do with the mission since she distinctly heard the name 'Neji' through that whole spiel.

Hinata seemed to calm herself down, while Sukasu's thought whirled. She was so lost in her thoughts she almost missed it when Hinata repeated herself.

"I said, that Neji told me to tell you something, when we first met but I couldn't bring myself to," Hinata said, slower this time. "I was afraid he might bring it up when you see him today so I was nervous, because I knew I had to tell you."

Sukasu calmed down, slightly. "Was it something bad?" She asked, wondering what Neji had possibly told Hinata that would make her want to keep it a secret.

"No," Hinata shook her head, "not necessarily."

Sukasu raised an eyebrow.

Hinata's face turned pink again, "it's more embarrassing than anything."

_Embarrassing?_ Sukasu didn't say anything waiting for Hinata to finish.

"It's.." Hinata lips parted, she wanted to say more but instead she brought her hands to her face and shook her head back and forth.

"Hinata? What on earth?"

Hinata didn't hear her and just continued vigorously shaking her head mumbling to herself.

"Hinata, I can't hear you what are you saying."

Her head began to move even faster, if that were possible, Sukasu began to think there was something seriously wrong with her friend. "What?"

But because her head was shaking so fast, her hands couldn't keep up, and Sukasu could finally begin to hear some of what she was saying.

She caught Neji's name again and then the words 'embarrassing' and... 'lewd?'

_Neji? lewd?_ Sukasu's lips quirked upward. Then she smirked, then she started to chuckle,_ Neji saying something lewd to Hinata? It was just too funny, he should know better than to tell his cousin something like that, what was he thinking? Moreover, what did he say?_

Hinata stopped shaking her head as Sukasu's chuckles reached her turning into full blown laughter. _What's so funny to her?_

"Sukasu?" Hinata asked, reaching a hand out

Sukasu looked up at the sound of her name. Seeing Hinata was back to normal she tried to reign herself back in, but a chuckle escaped here and there. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Sukasu let out another chuckle, "I'm fine, but I think I should be asking you that," Sukasu said waving a hand to indicate Hinata's little show earlier.

"Oh right," Hinata mumbled placing her hand down.

Sukasu sobered up. "So really, What did he say?" She asked getting straight to the point.

"That," Hinata paused, face still slightly pink. "He said, and I quote, that the bed creaked and you might want to check it out before we break it the next time."

Sukasu stared a Hinata for a good minute her mouth open. Hinata stared back.

Sukasu seemed to know she wasn't making a good image, and that she need to reply.

Sukasu leaned back against the shelf behind her, closing her mouth and letting a smirk take its place.

"Really? _That's_ what you were so embarrassed about saying?"

Hinata lowered her head, "Well it was more embarrassing when he first told me."

"Oh?" Sukasu raised both eyebrows.

"Well because at the time...I thought his friend was...a-another guy so I was kind of shocked."

"You thought your cousin was gay?" Eyebrows still raised.

"Hai," Hinata's voice was small.

"And that's a problem?"

"No, no that's not... I mean... you like who you like. I just thought that he was moving a little...fast, y'know?"

Sukasu snickered, _she's been hanging around Naruto,_ "a little fast?"

"Well…" Hinata began

"No, no Hinata don't explain, it's fine I can see why you'd feel _upset_ by something like that. But tell me had it been you and say...Naruto, would you be any different?" Sukasu didn't give Hinata any time to respond, as she turned and walked away.

"I-wa-" Hinata stuttered out flustered, "Wait where are you going?" She called.

"To my room where else?" Sukasu called back.

"Your room?" Hinata asked, following after her.

"Yeah, Neji said something about my bed creaking didn't he? I want to check it out." Sukasu replied, when Hinata finally appeared in her bedroom doorway.

"Oh right." But Hinata response went unheard because Sukasu was too busy scrutinizing her bed frame, and muttering under her breath.

"He said it creaks, but what does he mean? I know for a fact this bed doesn't creak." Sukasu pushed against the mattress, sure enough no sound came out.

"Alright, so maybe if I hit the actual bed frame?" Sukasu walked around to the end of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked concerned when Sukasu braced herself against the bed.

"What...does... it... look like?" Sukasu managed in between shoves.

"Um," Hinata didn't answer as Sukasu gave one final shove and a sharp groan filled the room.

Sukasu paused, Hinata looked shocked.

Sukasu pushed again, the same sound resounded around the room.

Hinata moved further into the room while Sukasu let go of the bed frame. Lowering herself to the floor, she crawled under the bed.

There is as a short shuffling sound and then she went quite.

"Sukasu? What do you see?"

Sukasu crawled back out from under the bed. "My bed frame." She frowned. "Hinata help me with moving the mattress."

"Huh? O-okay." Hinata moved forward to join Sukasu on the side of the bed but stopped when she waved her away.

"No, just make sure it doesn't break anything." She said picking up the mattress and tossing-throwing, and I mean like completely launching that shit-the mattress off the bed, in Hinata's direction.

Hinata with her quick reflexes managed to keep it from hitting her, or anything else for that matter.

When Hinata finally managed to maneuver the mattress to a better place, Sukasu had already climbed over the bed frame and was on her hands and knees staring at one of the wooden beams attached to her headboard, which even from this distance looked slightly out of place.

By the time Hinata managed to reach her though, Sukasu had already removed the piece of wood and was dumping out the contents.

"Scrolls," Sukasu said, emotionless. "They're scrolls"

"Why would he put scrolls in your bed frame," Hinata asked softly.

"I don't know, but obviously he wanted me to know about them." Sukasu said, settling herself on the floor. Picking up the scroll nearest to her she opened it.

"They're quite old," Hinata remarked settling herself next to Sukasu.

"Yeah"

Hinata looked over at her friend who was lightly fingering whatever was inside the scroll. "What does it say?"

"It's a list...of names."

"A list of names? Why would nii-san want to give you a list of names?"

Sukasu shook her head, "Not just any names. It's a list of every single flower style user and their birth dates. This is something that would only be in the Hana Household's archives...which I destroyed. So, why would he...better yet why _does_ he have this?" Sukasu said to no one in particular. She seemed to have forgotten Hinata was even there, while she frantically tore and searched through the rest of the scrolls.

"Lists, diary entries, birth certificates, family trees...why does he have all of this? Where did he find it? Why did he hide this from me?" Sukasu seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. "What did he want me to know? Was it just this?"

Hinata reached out a hand to try and comfort her friend when her eye lighted upon something out of place from the rest of the scrolls. It was a little ways off so she assumed it must have flown out of one of the scrolls Sukasu had torn open in a panicked frenzy.

"Hey," Hinata said catching her friends attention. Sukasu looked up from a scroll she was reading.

"What's this?" Hinata held up the photo, for it was a photo, "it's different from everything else."

Sukasu snatched the photo from Hinata's hand, startling her.

"Sorry," she muttered, but her apology was lost with the wind, as she stared at the picture. For a second she was frozen, and then she began to tremble, whether from fear or anger Hinata could not tell. Sukasu's face was stoic.

Then she turned and slowly went through the scrolls again, stopping when she got to one Hinata knew was a family tree. Sukasu's finger moved downwards as she scanned the tree, searching.

When she found what she was looking for her face darkened, and this time Hinata was sure it was anger, that was coming off her in deep writhing waves.

"Sukasu?" Hinata felt that she had been calling her friends name a lot in the past hour, but then again a lot had gone on in the past hour._ I knew this wouldn't be a good idea to tell her what he said. Now she's angry._ Hinata thought watching her friend as she violently shoved most of the scrolls back into the post, only leaving the one scroll and picture out in the open.

Grabbing them she carefully placed the picture inside the scroll and resealed it. Her movements were rushed and hurried as she placed the seal in a hidden pocket on the underside of her skirt and quickly re-braided her hair.

"Hinata you're going to need to leave now. I can't have them suspecting you of helping me."

Hinata jumped at the sound of her name, she had thought that Sukasu had completely forgotten about her presence again. She wasn't prepared to be addressed, much less given a command. She stared at her open mouthed.

Sukasu had barely even looked up from tying off the end of her braid and throwing it back over her shoulder. When she did look up and saw Hinata still standing there she grew agitated.

"Hinata go, I'll be right behind you, but I can't have you around when I'm breaking Neji out we talked about this remember? Go."

Hinata seemed to snap out of her daze. Closing her mouth she nodded and ran out.

Sukasu sighed, but she wasn't relaxed at all, she was fuming. It was one thing to have all the problems in the world thrown at her face in one go. Her life wasn't exactly a trip down happy lane, but with Neji being put under house arrest- as one particular person might call it-she had felt like the world was about to fall apart and everything she had worked for was going with it, and now this?

_These scrolls these documents how in the hell did he find them? Well that's obvious the Hyuuga had them. _The fact that Neji found them and hid them in her own bed frame made her angry, but the fact that the Hyuuga had them in the first place was the part that pissed her off even more. Then there was that._ That vile ugly picture, and the tree and the document, the one she had hidden away before Hinata could see. Why? why? why? why? why did they have a certificate of her birth?_

All these why's, that she was certain only two people knew the answer to. One of which she was going to have a talk with, a long talk, she had _four_ hours to talk.

* * *

Sukasu flew through the streets of Konoha making sure to take back alleys and side streets as much as possible on her way to the Hyuuga compound.

It was midday and the streets were crowded. It wouldn't do her any good if someone saw her hours before a breakout roaming the streets. Not that any of the civilians would know about it anyway, but the ninja, off duty or otherwise. Let's just say it could turn into a problem.

When she neared the gates of the Hyuuga compound she slowed her breakneck speeds and double checked that she was still hidden.

While she may be invisible to the Byakugan, silver hair can be extremely noticeable, especially in broad daylight.

Sukasu slowed to a stop a short distance away from the gate and waited, She stood perfectly still against the alley wall she was currently hiding in counting the seconds until the guards changed shifts.

She waited with bated breath _3-2-1-NOW_ she shouted mentally, she watched as the guards turned and began to walk back in towards the compound._ Right on schedule._

Breathing a sigh of relief she slinked along the wall, hiding in its shadows, before sprinting across the length of the street, coming to a stop just inside the gates of the compound. Working quickly she moved to hide in the guards shadows masking her presence until she came across a tree just within reaching distance.

And right on time to, for the replacement guards were just coming around the corner. Sukasu immediately bended her knees and sent all her strength to the balls of her feet. She shot upwards into the tree, reaching out for a higher branch she swung around and came to a frozen standstill.

_Thank God. The guards haven't noticed me._ She thought as she watched the first two disappear into the house, and their replacements take up their positions at the gate. _You know they're very relaxed for people who worry about having their eyes stolen. _Sukasu thought as she leapt out of the tree and into the next one.

That was how things proceeded for the next twenty minutes as Sukasu made her way to Neji's room. Jumping from tree to tree, darting from bush to bush, hiding from servants or members of the main family when necessary.

It wasn't a lot of fun, though it did remind her of all the times she had snuck around enemy villages gathering information and listening to the latest gossip. That part was interesting at least.

But now Sukasu didn't have time to listen to women and men talk about their daily lives, and who married who, and who was going to have a baby, and what the latest scandal was. Right now she had a certain brown-haired, lavender-eyed, teenage boy to save _and/or murder when I get my hands on him_. Sukasu added scathingly.

Finally, finally after long moments of hiding between leaves and worrying about being caught. Sukasu finally, came to a stop outside of Neji's room. She couldn't see him but she knew by the time, everything was going according to plan by the way. She knew by the time that his afternoon meal had already been delivered and removed. And that Shisui was in her weekly meeting with the head.

Sukasu knew it wasn't a good idea to just climb up to his window. That would just announce to the world that she was there. So she decided to pick off a piece of bark from the tree limb she was currently crouched on and chuck it at his window.

Sukasu waited, one minute, two minutes, _Oh come on. Open up already!_ There was no movement. _Did I get the wrong room?_ Sukasu thought momentarily worried. But, no she'd counted right. _Second window from the left, it was the right room. So then why wasn't anyone answering? _

She picked off another piece of bark and repeated the process. This time something moved and a figure became apparent behind the glass window pane.

When Neji opened the window Sukasu gave an internal sigh of relief and aggravation. "Finally!" she said jumping out of the tree and into his room. Neji barely had time to avoid getting kneed in the face moving away from his window.

Neji stared at her. Sukasu stared back. "What? Your cousin never told you I was coming to get you?" Sukasu asked placing a hand on her hip. Commenting on Neji's continued silence she added, "Surprised?"

"You came." Was all he said.

"Yes, I came. To rescue you or kill you I haven't decided which yet." Sukasu replied a biting edge to her voice.

"You're angry," He remarked, ignoring her comment to kill him.

Sukasu cocked an eyebrow. "Oh I'm more than angry, I'm furious, No better yet I'm livid." Sukasu said her voice getting progressively angrier as she spoke, she was shaking.

Neji backed up; sitting down on his bed he stayed silent as he watched her.

"How?" she asked her voice breaking, "How could you?" She slowly pulled the scrolls out of her pocket the anger was gone now, replaced by a growing sense of sadness, and betrayal, but not on his part.

"Did you know that those scrolls were sitting in my uncles private archives?" Neji finally said. "_Sitting_ there, Sukasu. He had them. He _had_ them," he repeated "In his possession. He had them," Neji stressed his voice raising. He paused to collect himself.

Sukasu stayed quiet waiting for him to continue.

"When I found them," Neji continued his voice softer now "I was upset, they weren't his scrolls to keep, rightfully, they're yours. So I took them." At this he shrugged, "I thought it the logical thing to do."

Sukasu stared at him shocked, there were tears in her eyes. "And did it seem like the logical thing to do to hide them in my bed? And did it seem like the logical thing to do when he found out you took them and suspected you of meeting me? Did it seem like the logical thing to do when he had you tailed and had his suspicions confirmed?" She asked.

"Did it seem like the logical thing to do when he locked you up in here? And was it the logical thing to do to tell_ Hinata_ to tell me to look in my bed, when _you_ should have told me in the first place? Did that really seem like the logical thing to do?"

Sukasu was in pain. she was hurt and her voice was broken, barely above a whisper, as she threw these questions at him. She wanted an answer, he knew, but he feared hurting her even more.

"At the time, Yes, it did."

"At the time," Sukasu repeated. She let loose a bitter laugh, throwing the scroll in her hand across the room to land at his feet. Neji stared at it. "And what? Pray tell Neji, does it seem like now?"

"The worst possible decision I could have ever made."

"The worst? The worst possible decision?" Sukasu repeated quietly. "You don't say? Neji, I just found out that Naori, a girl I saw as my best friend a girl who **died** because of me, Is my sister and not only that but my** twin** sister! We had the same parents, the same mother, the same father, the same siblings. We were siblings! and I **killed** them. I _killed _all of them, Neji, _all_ of them, every last one." Sukasu was crying now the tears streaming down her face. She hiccupped, bringing up a hand to wipe her face.

"I know."

Sukasu paused, one hand over her eye. "You _know_? You **knew**? well _of course_ you knew! But, **You** knew and you didn't tell **me**!" Sukasu's voice which had gone quiet, muffled by tears and emotion, now rose to its full power once again. "You knew and you didn't tell me," she repeated throwing herself across the room and grabbing fistfuls of Neji's shirt.

Neji nodded not saying a word.

"Why?" She asked her voice cracking. "Why did you do that?" Sukasu stared at his face. Her eyes were red and puffy, glassy with unshed tears. And her cheeks were wet with tears, some dripped off her chin splashing onto the hands that were holding his shirt.

Neji just stared at her, eyes roaming her face.

"Why?" she repeated, grip tightening.

"Because," Neji's lips parted, "I wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" Sukasu's hands loosened.

"I didn't want to see you broken again, I wouldn't be able to stand it, so I couldn't bring myself to tell you."

"You didn't want to see me broken. So you didn't tell me." Sukasu lips quirked up into some sort of amused, twisted smile. "Well," she said her voice becoming syrupy sweet. The sound was sickening. "It seems you've failed in your mission Ne-ji-cha-n Because…"

And Sukasu's grin fell, her lips turned downwards and her grip tightened again. "That. Broke. Me."

Neji flinched.

Sukasu didn't seem to care, as she leaned in close and whispered. "That's quite the opposite of what you wanted." She breathed in his ear, and then bit the lobe, giving it a light tug. Pulling away she stepped back. "Isn't it?" She bit out, he voice was acid.

Neji bowed his head; he couldn't bear to look at her face anymore. She looked so hurt and angry and betrayed and...broken. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry," he said again louder.

"You're sorry?" Sukasu repeated. "Is _that_ your way of asking for forgiveness?"

Neji nodded his head slowly in shame.

Sukasu let out a breathy laugh. Neji looked up as Sukasu placed a finger on his chin. "Well you better be prepared to spend the rest of your life asking to be forgiven because no amount of _sorry_ is going to cut it."

"Sukasu…"

"I'm hurt..." she finally said. "I'm hurt that you would do something like that. I trusted you. I **care** about you. and you just…" Sukasu's voice rose again.

"You, care about me?" Neji asked quietly, not sure he'd heard correctly despite the fact that she was being very clear.

"What?" Yes I care about you!" Sukasu yelled "Can you not see that! After everything we've done and been through, can you not see that?"

Neji was suddenly very angry, all sense of shame at his previous actions gone. The anger bubbled up from somewhere, he didn't know where but he was glad it did. He was tired of being yelled at, and screamed at, and having his actions condemned without being given the chance to explain them or rectify them, and so in all his anger he yelled right back.

"Well can you not see that I care about you enough that I stole scrolls from my uncle knowing it could possibly get me in trouble! Can you not see that I care about you enough to not go against his actions for once and remain silent and take my punishment! And can you not see that I love you enough to not want to see you hurt and crying ever again! And can you not see that I love you enough to ask for forgiveness, and you just throw it back in my face!"

Sukasu shut up. It took her brain a minute to register what he'd just said._ 'And can you not see that I love you enough to not want to see you hurt or crying ever again!'_ Those words replayed over and over in her mind until they became a jumbled mess and she couldn't decipher them anymore.

"You... lo-ve m-me?" She choked out. The words getting caught and stumbling over her tongue in an attempt to get them out her mouth.

Neji went back over what he had said. He had just been yelling off the top of his head. He hadn't really thought about what was _actually_ coming out of his mouth. But when his eyes glided over Sukasu's form standing there with her red tear stained cheeks and puffy amethyst eyes. And her striking silver hair and creamy skin, and when he thought about her strange and slightly annoying but likable personality, her insecurities, her likes, her dislikes, her undetectable mood swings, how she would get passionate over cooking, and how she worked her hardest to perfect whatever jutsu she was working on, her undying care and concern for others and everything else in between, it was then that he realized he really did love her.

He didn't know when he started to, or when he realized he did, but he did and he was glad he did, and he wanted her to know that.

Sukasu stared up at him waiting for an answer. Her eyes were as big as a child's waiting to see what was hidden in the wrapping paper of their biggest present.

Neji sighed; he noticed the slight wrinkle in displeasure on Sukasu's forehead when he did. He loved that too.

He smiled. Sukasu frowned. "I said it twice didn't I?" He finally responded adding a question of his own, "I can say it again if you like?" he added jokingly.

When Sukasu didn't respond he wondered if it was too soon to joke with her. Her head was lowered and he couldn't see her face. Though he took her not yelling as a good sign.

When she looked up again her face was annoyed. "Baka," She said.

"What?"

And then she was on top of him. The speed at which she launched herself across the room caused both of them to topple backwards onto the bed. At first Neji thought that she was trying to kill him but then he realized that she was crying, violently. She was clutching the front of his shirt and bawling. Crying 'Baka' and 'idiot' and 'dumbass' over and over again into his chest.

Neji just rubbed her back as she cried, trying to offer her a little comfort in their awkward positions. After a while her crying stopped and she began to mumble something into his chest.

"What?" He asked.

"I said," Sukasu repeated her voice still muffled by tears and the fact that she was speaking to his chest. "That you're an idiot for doing all of that out of love."

Neji frowned and was about to cut her off, but she continued.

"I can't believe you would do something so stupid and put me through all that pain over some scrolls. Though I can understand why you did it, because I don't think Hisashi should have had them either. But if you really love me like you say you do then you shouldn't have hidden that information from me. But again that makes sense because you couldn't really love me I'm…"

And here Neji cut her off "Perfect."

"What?" Sukasu asked lifting her head from his chest to stare at his face. "No I'm not I'm…"

Again Neji cut her off. "You're perfect Sukasu."

"I'm not perfect," Sukasu said sitting up. "I'm crazy…"

"And perfect."

"and insecure…"

"And perfect."

"and my back…"

"Is perfect."

Sukasu glared at him. "I'm sorry, continue."

"Like I was going to say my back_ground_ is a mess and…"

Neji held up a hand, and placed it over her mouth, effectively cutting her off. "Wait. No. Stop. See right there, Sukasu, that's what you're not getting. I don't care about your background, what you've done, what you haven't done, what you think you did. I don't care about who your siblings, are or your parents, or even who your clan is. I care about you and no matter what your background is it does not define **you**. You are **you** and I **love** **you**, not your background. So you better remember that."

**000**

And with that, he removed his hand from her mouth and brought it around to the back of her head, forcing her down and crashing his lips against hers.

Sukasu made a surprised sound, and braced her hands on Neji's shoulders 'what!' Was what she wanted to say. But it came out sounding more like 'hhaaa-mm!' Because her open mouth allowed Neji free access to roam it with his tongue.

He was exceedingly gentle, prodding her tongue to meet his, and then tracing the inside of the cavity, familiarizing himself with it.

Sukasu gave a soft moan, she had missed this. This taste. His lips. his tongue. All of it. It was like she hadn't realized she was parched until the water had touched her throat. Or hungry until a feast was laid out before her. She had missed him, greatly, and a lot more than she realized. Her body began to warm up, but she didn't feel the overwhelming need to rip his clothes off just yet. She wanted him to continue to kiss her, to hold her, just for a little longer.

Neji used his hand to guide her head to an angle, deepening the kiss before pulling away.

Sukasu whimpered at her metaphorical water being ripped away. She opened her eyes to look down at him, a pout forming on her face.

Neji smirked up at her. "Got it?"

Sukasu's cheeks took on a light pinkish tinge, and her pout deepened. "What?"

Neji smirk turned into a grin. "What I said before. Do you get it?"

Sukasu face cleared, "Oh uh-huh," she answered nodding. But her eyes were focused on his lips, again. "Yeah, I got it" she repeated clearer bringing her face down to meet his lips gently.

"Good," he mouthed around the kiss, before breaking it once more and gripping her waist, to flip her around so that they were lying properly on the bed, with her underneath him.

"Because I had been planning on spending this four hours doing something other than fighting, but this works out too." He said bringing his mouth down to trace his tongue along the junction between Sukasu's neck and shoulder." Actually, it makes it easier," he added before retracting his tongue and replacing it with his lips.

"Huh?" Sukasu managed to get out before he sucked, hard, on the spot and Sukasu instinctively threw her head back, and lifted her chest in an attempt to get closer to him. her hands tugged on his shoulders trying to bring him down further.

As Neji continued to kiss, and suck, and lick Sukasu's hands left his shoulders and moved down his back, she was getting tired of this and that spot was sure to leave a mark to let anyone know she was taken. Her hands tugged on the end of his shirt, where the fabric met his pants. She wanted him to take it off.

Neji stopped sucking and chuckled, turning his head he placed a kiss on her jaw. "Not so fast," he said. Running his hands up her sides, to her back placing butterfly kisses along her jaw. Moving up he placed one on the small bone behind her ear, before creating a trail back down again. His hands reached the back of her neck playing with and untying the strings there.

"I. want. to. take. this. nice. and. slow. He punctuated each word with a kiss. Sukasu groaned, arching her back and tugging even harder in protest.

As if daring her to challenge him he took his sweet time removing her top, following his movements with his mouth, his teeth, and his tongue. Nipping and licking lightly over the newly exposed skin.

he went all the way down to her navel, placing a kiss there, before he decided to indulge his whimpering partner, and moved back up to kiss her. But not before he removed his shirt, in the process.

Sukasu smiled into the kiss, as her hands traced up his arms which had moved back to her waist before coming to rest at the base of his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair she moaned as he pulled on her lower lip with his teeth. Arching again she shivered as her stomach and breast made contact with his cool skin.

She let go of his hair, letting her hands roam along his chest and back, her hands traced the dips and lines his muscles made. She traced each and every scar she came across, marveling at the story in each one. She didn't have any scars thanks to, her kekkei genkai, they had all disappeared. Any scars she'd had were gone they were all memories no one would ever see. And so she marveled his scars, at being able to trace them, and feel them, to touch them, they were his memories, and she loved them.

Neji broke away from her mouth and bent his head, to place a kiss on her collar bone. Then he moved down and placed open mouthed kisses on the top of each breast. Trailing from that spot downwards, using his tongue, he traced circles around her areola, before latching onto the hard nipple.

Sukasu gasped, at the unexpected warmth that surrounded her breast, a sharp contrast to the cool air around them. Neji sucked gently, alternating between his hands and his mouth, on either breast. Sukasu felt that familiar heat begin to pool in her lower stomach at his ministrations. "Ah N-eji!" she called his name, panting.

Neji placed one last kiss on her breast, moving his hands downwards to grasp her skirt and panties. He pulled and Sukasu lifted her hips to help him, clearing her feet, he deposited the garments to the side.

Neji murmured in appreciation at the sight before him. Burying his face in the junction where her hips met her thigh, he glided his nose along the crease simultaneously sliding his hands up her thighs. Sukasu let out a light sigh, the sound floating softly through the room.

Neji brought his left hand up to her center, rubbing his index finger along the folds. Sukasu moaned, the coil tightening. Bringing her hands down she began running her fingers through his hair once more.

Neji removed his hand only to place it back on her leg. Moving around to grab the underside of her thigh he lifted her leg over his shoulder, he placed his head in between her legs. "Sukasu" he mouthed before running his tongue along the length of her inner fold. He repeated, one long lick, then three short ones, but he didn't enter her, not yet.

Sukasu writhed underneath him; she wanted something, anything, inside her NOW! she was going crazy, the coil inside her was beginning to get unbearable. "Neji" she moaned, tugging on his head.

"Not yet, love. I want to enjoy this." he said, ending his words with another sweep of his tongue. But the bulge in his pants was telling him to take her, right that second. He fought against the urge and continued to lick and massage her core.

"Neji!" she cried out again, her tugs bordering on painful.

Neji gave her one last lick before he darted his tongue inside her. Sukasu cried out, pleasure shooting through her entire body. The coil inside her tightened, to the point where Sukasu thought she would explode, and she then she did. his previous teasing made her come almost instantly.

Neji darted his tongue inside her once more groaning she tasted delicious. Sukasu threw her head back, and her mouth dropped open. She felt like she was on fire, Neji continued to eat her out as she rode her waves of pleasure, causing her to come again and again. "Oh God!" she cried out as another wave hit her.

When Sukasu came down off her high, she felt herself go weak. Her grip on Neji's head slackened, Neji smirked.

"Enjoy that?" he teased, the words light.

Sukasu mumbled something incoherent and then groaned. Neji smirked again. He enjoyed her reactions, and felt pride in the fact that he was the one facilitating them. he went back to licking her folds, letting his index and middle fingers take the place of his tongue inside her.

Neji groaned again, she was so wet and her core was just asking for him to enter her. He felt his member throb and suddenly his pants were very confining. He removed himself from her ignoring her whimper of protest. He quickly shed his pants and kicked them away.

Lying back down on top of her, he lined himself up with her center, and plunged into her core. Reveling in the feel of her sheathed around him, before he pulled out, entering again, slowly.

Sukasu moaned burying her face in the crook of his neck, _finally!_ She had thought that after her first orgasm the need to be filled would have subsided, but instead the feeling had just grown worse. She was so glad he had decided to enter her, _but why was he going so damn slow? _

"Neji," she whimpered, "faster."

Neji was panting, trying to control himself. He wanted to oblige her, hell he wanted to go faster. But he also wanted to just feel her, just take it slow and familiarize himself with every part of her body individually. At least that was the plan, but things didn't exactly go as planned. Neji lowered his head to her neck, planting kisses along her shoulder.

"N-e-ji" Sukasu tried again panting, she was hot and so so close, each thrust bringing her closer to the edge, but not nearly enough to send her over.

Neji brought his hand up and tilted her head so that he could kiss her, before he let go placing his hand back on her waist.

"Please," he whispered against her lips. His voice was hoarse, and his breathing hoarse. "Please don't ask again, Sukasu, just let me feel you. It's been so long."

Sukasu felt like her brain had frozen. _Let him feel her?_ She thought. Then she realized, it had only been a month, but to him it probably felt like forever. Not being allowed out, not being able to go on missions, and not being able to see_ her_. _Oh_ Sukasu thought, relaxing into him, no longer trying to fight his slow pace. _That's why._

As soon as she relaxed, she felt it, Bam! That tightening in the pit of her stomach, the rushing heat, Neji seemed to understand what was happening quicker than she did, for he quickly clamped his mouth over hers to muffle her cries.

Her vision went from white to pitch black. The fire spread over her entire body, all the way through her toes. Her fingers tingled, and her arms tightened around his neck. Neji held her as she came, keeping up his slow pace, until he too came. Panting, they both relaxed onto their sides in the bed.

Neji looked down, at the woman in his arms. She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were hazy. He nuzzled the top of her head, surprisingly her braid was still intact, and not as messed up at he thought it would be.

Moving his hand to capture the end of the braid, he pulled the elastic off, and began to unravel it. Sukasu turned her head and looked up at him.

"What, I like it better, when it's out," He said softly answering her unspoken question. "Besides it's just going to come out anyway," he added smiling down at her.

Sukasu rolled her eyes before turning around to face him. "If it's anything like before I highly doubt that."

Neji smirked, "Good thing it's not going to be anything like before then, you have no idea how much I was holding back."

Sukasu stared up at him shocked. The whole time he had wanted to go just as fast as she did and he just...aarrgh "that whole time!" Sukasu whisper-yelled, indignant, "and now I'm going to have trouble walking thanks to you! How am I supposed to fight people off if they see us? I am supposed to be rescuing you y'know!"

"I know," Neji responded smiling, placing a kiss on her temple. "I love you."

Sukasu's face softened and she whispered back shyly "I love you, too" then all traces of shyness were gone, "But that still doesn't change the fact that I won't be able to walk!"

* * *

A/N: Okay so how may of you laughed, cried, and then probably went 'what the f***!' because I know I did, well I didn't exactly cry but my chest hurt writing that fight scene, I didn't even realize till I got to the end and was like "why am I in so much pain?" it was quite an interesting evening, especially after that love confession cuz that was not supposed to happen, I was just writing and it kinda came out so I ran with it, I mean it worked right? what do you think of Shisui? I like her, she's going to become a very interesting character in the near future, by like next chapter actually, that's kind of like a spoiler isn't it? forget I said that, Anyway, as always thank you! and please review!


	20. Shisui

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Chapter 20, guys, Chapter 20. This is a milestone for me, 20 chapters in my first fanfic, and as such I'd like to celebrate...endless cookies for all of you, that is my gift. That and this chapter, which technically the beginning of which was supposed to be a part of chapter 19 all the way up through to them leaving the compound, so about...half this chapter, yeah half, that would be another 3000 words right there (this chapter is almost 6000). It was gonna be one long chapter but, oh well I split it up, even if I didn't really want to. I needed something for this chapter besides Shisui/Sukasu backstory type stuff which didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, since I had this whole scenario going in my head that just didn't make it on to the paper...again. I'm starting to think I should create like a deleted scenes sort of thing for this story, there's so much stuff going on that you guys don't know about like, why was Neji looking for information on Sukasu, and she wasn't aware of it? how did he know there were documents hidden in his uncle's study? what happened in that sex scene I cut out of chapter 17? who knows? should I tell you? should I?...ONWARDS!

Shout Outs: Thanks to... **cathyscloud9**, **Sabie0521** and **Miko Hayashi **for reviewing, **DocAmburgey **for favorite-ting, **PunkRock DancerChick** for following, and to **XXxxlovehurtsxxXX **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU! *wow three reviews!, have ya'll noticed that normally I only get like one or two per chapter? but this time I got three! three!*

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 20**

"Su…"

"Kasu…"

"Sukasu, wake up."

Sukasu mumbled something snuggling even deeper into the warmth.

Neji sighed, rolling his eyes, his arms instinctively tightening around Sukasu as she snuggled into him. He brushed away some bangs that had fallen into her face, calling out to her softly.

"Sukasu love, wake up, it's almost time. We've got, ten minutes."

Sukasu groaned her eyelids fluttering open. She blinked a few times, her eyes slowly focusing on Neji's face, before sliding to the clock on the wall.

"Shit, we hav' to leab already?" She questioned through a yawn, whilst rubbing her eyes.

Neji smiled. "Yes, unless you want to stay here…"

"Can we?"

"...and you can get caught and we both end up spending the rest of our days locked away from the world."

Sukasu glared at him. "It was a joke, dammit."

Neji's smile widened. "Didn't sound like it."

Sukasu sat up, stretching her arms out. Looking around for her clothes, she noted that Neji was already dressed. "How long was I out?"

Neji glanced at the clock, "Not that long, about an hour."

"An hour, huh?" Sukasu slowly slid out of bed, gingerly testing her weight to see if her legs would hold her. When she was satisfied they wouldn't give out she pushed away from the bed to gather the various articles of clothing strewn about the room. "I thought you were going to keep me up the entire four hours." Sukasu said slyly picking up her skirt and sliding it on.

Neji watched her ignoring her jab at his sexual prowess. "I was, but you fell asleep…"

"I can see that."

"...After you switched roles on me." Neji finished raising an eyebrow.

Sukasu paused in the process of picking up one of her boots off the floor. "Switched?" The gears in her mind turning over the events of the last four hours. "Oh!" She exclaimed, she turned her face away from him, as a sheepish look crossed it. "Sorry about that."

Neji blinked, sitting up. "Why are you apologizing?"

Sukasu looked over at him, her sheepish expression quickly being replaced with a grin. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not apologizing for switching, just for falling asleep."

Neji's face cleared and he waved her off, "Don't apologize you were... tired."

Sukasu was across the room in a second. Kneeling on the bed she placed one arm on either side of Neji, trapping him between her and the headboard. She brought her face closer to his, knitting her eyebrows together.

Neji leaned away, watching her with wary eyes "What?" He asked.

She smirked leaning forward some more, "You're upset."

"What?" Neji exclaimed "No, I said it was fine didn't I? Why would I be upset?"

Sukasu was shaking her head. "No, you're upset. I can tell," Sukasu said, tilting her face up towards him.

Then she moved, placing both her hands on his shoulders. She lifted herself up to place a kiss on his brow. "But don't worry; I'll make it up to you." She whispered, moving away from the bed. "Now, get up, we need to go in five minutes," She said, pulling her shirt over her head and tying the strings.

Neji sighed, moving to get out of bed, when Sukasu stilled.

"What's…?" He started.

Sukasu shushed him with a quick hand gesture towards the door.

Neji fell silent, listening. Then he heard it, the rhythmic tapping of footsteps along the hallway leading up to his door. Footsteps that he had come to associate with only one person. Shisui. "Shit" he muttered, "She's early,"

Sukasu frowned, "You got that right," she mouthed back.

"You think we can make it?" He asked copying her form of silent communication.

Sukasu shrugged, moving silently towards the window. Standing alongside the frame so she couldn't be seen from the outside she gave the area a quick once over before making a face.

"What?"

Sukasu shook her head, motioning for him to come over, while pointing out the window to the ground below.

Neji slid cautiously out of bed, still listening to Shisui's footsteps which never wavered, slowed down, or changed direction, continuing on at a steady pace. Neji's last hope that she was going somewhere else died as he approached the window, when Shisui passed the last door on the hallway before his.

Sukasu moved away from the window as he came closer giving up her spot so the he could see, she moved lightly across the room standing in plain sight of the doorway.

Neji guessed that she knew there was no chance of escape without being detected and when he looked out he knew why.

Standing directly beneath his window was a small group of servants, obviously taking a break before diving back into the mass chaos that was dinner preparations.

"Fuck" Neji breathed out, glancing towards Sukasu. He was surprised to see she had turned her attention away from the door and was currently staring at him. Her eyes were unreadable masked by some sort of turbulent emotion he couldn't quite place.

It wasn't until Sukasu blinked and narrowed her eyes, signifying her frustration that Neji realized she was trying to tell him something.

"What?" He mouthed back.

Sukasu rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Open the window!"

Neji frowned but turned to do as he was told. Maybe she figured that if they were going to be detected anyway they should just leave and get a head start, _but if that's the case why isn't she moving?_

Sukasu was still standing in the same spot. _What's she waiting for?_ He wanted to ask but at that moment the footsteps stopped, right outside his door.

Time had frozen everything while they waited for Shisui to open the door. Even the light breeze which had been floating through the open window till now died. Everything was still, and then two things happened at once.

Sukasu moved. Her hand flicking opening the fan Neji hadn't even realized she had taken from the chain at her waist, and infusing it with chakra till it seemed to be blazing with it. And Shisui opened the door.

The first thing Neji noticed was that she didn't immediately attack. She simply took in her surroundings with a cool eye. The second thing he noticed was her expression.

In all the time he had known Shisui her expression had always been one of either cool indifference or polite diplomacy. She had struck him as someone who saw no place for emotion in work; it was just something she didn't show. But as her eyes traveled the room to land on Sukasu they widened a fraction and darkened with the same set of turbulent emotions that had dominated Sukasu's moments prior.

Sukasu was the first to speak. "You're early."

Shisui's eyes narrowed but it was so slight the Neji wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been staring already. "I felt a disturbance."

Neji's eyes snapped to Sukasu then back to Shisui. "You felt a disturbance, in chakra? "That's why you left my uncle early?" Neji's eyes widened as he made a connection. "No, he sent you up here."

Shisui's eyes flicked to Neji, where they had once been clouded with emotion they regarded him now with remote disinterest, before her gaze flickered back towards Sukasu.

Neji shifted his gaze towards her as well.

Sparing him a glance Sukasu said. "When she says she felt a disturbance she didn't mean in chakra." Sukasu turned back to Shisui. "Shisui here is just very in tune with my emotional well-being. She sensed my fluctuating emotion's earlier, that's the only reason she knows I'm here. Isn't that right, Shisui?"

Shisui offered Sukasu a small smile, the type of smile one might give off when correcting a small child. "On the contrary, I knew you were coming, and you made it quite... obvious that you were here." Shisui's gaze moved over to Neji.

"Well, at least you had the common decency not to alert Hisashi, or call the guards." Sukasu commented dryly.

"What makes you think I didn't? Or for that matter what makes you think they don't already know?" Shisui asked.

Neji caught a hint of a challenge in her voice.

Sukasu shifted, so that she was leaning to side, "I think you already know the answer to both those questions." She replied crossing her arms.

"Oh? Well maybe I don't. Enlighten me," Shisui shot back imitating Sukasu's stance.

Sukasu rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you want me to do that?"

Shisui responded with a silent glare.

"Fine," Sukasu huffed, "Your first question has already been answered. They don't know because if they did I'd have been locked up or killed already."

Neji noticed Shisui's light flinch at the word 'killed'. He turned his gaze towards Sukasu wondering if she had noticed it as well. But she was doing a very good job at hiding whatever it was she was truly feeling at the moment. Her stance gave off one of annoyance, and boredom. But her eyes were guarded, hiding her from the world.

Neji shook his head and went back to assessing Shisui. _It's like their roles are switched._ He thought taking in Shisui's stance, although it was almost an exact copy of Sukasu's it seemed more like she was trying to hold herself together. Upon closer inspection Neji noticed that she was shaking. The small tremors were almost imperceptible but they were definitely there. _So that's why she changed her stance. It's harder to tell she's shaking when she stands like that._

"In answer to your first question," Sukasu continued. "You didn't alert them for the exact reason of what would happen if you did. You don't want them to capture me," She stated.

Neji stopped assessing Shisui for a second time, "What do you mean by that? She works for my uncle, why wouldn't she want them to capture you?"

Both women ignored his questions, and Neji noticed that Shisui was neither accepting nor rejecting either statement.

"If you allowed them to capture me you'd no longer have a 'rival', and we both know that if they happened to kill me you'd no longer have a reason to live. As soon as I'm gone everything you've worked for until now would be void. Everything that happened in the past would be meaningless and the little web of lies you told yourself to stay away from me would shatter into a thousand pieces and you'd realize..."

Sukasu stopped as two kunai whistled past her face, and lodged into the wall behind her didn't seem surprised, as she leveled Shisui with a cold glare.

"Shut...up…" Shisui ground out through gritted teeth, "You know nothing about why I didn't call them here!"

"I only did that so I could kill you myself." Shisui grabbed three more kunai from the pouch hidden at her waist, "Without interference."

"That's not true." Sukasu said with confidence, but she backed away slightly anyway. "You won't kill me. You can't," Sukasu's voice became inaudible as she said something else.

Neji watched in shock as Shisui's face changed from one of defiance and anger to one so pained he almost didn't recognize it as her own. The kunai clattered to the ground in heap and Shisui abruptly turned away from the slightly shorter girl, her ability to look Sukasu in the eye seemed to have vanished.

Sukasu stared at the Shisui's back her mouth parted like she wanted to say more. But she closed it and her eyes shifted to Neji. "Are they still at the window?"

Neji looked out the window to the now empty space the maids had been occupying had it only been three minutes before? "No, they've left."

"Good," Sukasu said moving towards him.

"Shisui?" Sukasu said her name with childlike plea.

Shisui didn't turn around but she turned an ear in Sukasu's direction. "What?"

"We've lost some time so…"

"I'll take care of it," Shisui said cutting her off. "Just go."

"Um," Neji started, both girls turned their attention to him. "If my uncle finds out you helped us…"

"He won't," Shisui responded.

Neji turned to look at Sukasu, his face doubtful. She shook her head, "He won't find out."

Neji sighed, "Alright then, so are we leaving?"

Sukasu nodded. "Yeah let's go."

Neji nodded, leaping out the window. Sukasu moved to follow him.

"Sukasu"

Sukasu paused, "Yeah?"

"This changes nothing between us, you're still my rival."

"Keh," Sukasu snorted, looking back over her shoulder. "You really think so?"

"Well," she turned back to look out to where Neji was waiting for her. "You're the only one who thinks that," She said, and then she was gone. But not before she saw the silent tears sliding down Shisui's face.

"Are you ready?" She asked, landing in the tree beside Neji.

"Yeah, let's go. We've taken long enough already."

Sukasu nodded, and leapt away towards the main gate. Neji followed suit. Three kunai whistled through the air and embedded themselves in the tree behind them.

"What was that?" Neji asked, as they raced through the courtyard.

"A farewell."

"Some farewell," Neji muttered.

Sukasu smirked.

* * *

"So," Neji started after they had left the compound and were headed off to who knows where. "What's the deal between you and Shisui?"

Sukasu glanced at Neji out of the corner of her eye. "That's...an interesting story."

"I can tell," Neji said, "Everything's an interesting story with you."

"It's kind of different from the others I've told you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Sukasu replied, slowing down in her run, "We're going that way," She said pointing off to her right and changing direction.

Neji followed. "Where are we going?"

"To a place I like to go when I don't want to be found."

Neji glanced at Sukasu "Isn't that kind of...hard?" He asked skeptically, "For you to _not_ be found?"

Sukasu's face didn't change, as she answered. "Sometimes, but that's what makes this place special."

"Is it in Konoha?"

"Sort of."

"Like your house is 'sort of' in Konoha?"

Sukasu smiled. "Sure, like that."

Neji just shook his head, his brown hair whipping around even more with the added motion.

"Hey," he said after another couple of minutes, "You never started your story."

Another smile graced Sukasu's features. "I'd prefer to wait until we get to where we're going."

Neji sighed.

Sukasu chuckled, "For someone who doesn't usually bother themselves with other people you sure like to hear my stories. You're a curious one."

"Only when it comes to you," Neji replied, "but you already knew that."

"That I did," She said jumping off the edge of the building they were running on.

Neji ran a few more paces before jumping off too, landing in front of her. "A little warning, please."

"Sorry," Sukasu said, looking at the building they had just jumped off of.

Neji assessed the building they were in front of; even in the low evening light he could tell it was a very nondescript thing. _Most would just pass right by it, not a place to be remembered._

"Is this the place?" He asked.

Sukasu shook her head. "No, this is the place that leads to the place."

"The place that leads to the place," Neji repeated, "Very specific."

"Yep" Sukasu replied, "Come on lets go" she said moving towards the side of the building that seemed to be attached to an alley of some sort.

"What is this?" Neji asked as they neared a rusted grate in the side of the building.

"A safe house, or what leads to a safe house" Sukasu said, moving the grate aside to produce a makeshift passageway inside.

"A safe house? Like the ones over the Hokage tower?"

"Something like that." Sukasu ducked under a low hanging pipe that had fallen from the ceiling. "These were created for the people who were on the outskirts of the village if it was ever attacked, or the ones who were cut off from reaching the ones over the tower. But since everyone's moved closer into the village, places like this have been abandoned, and forgotten"

"Perfect for you, huh?" Neji asked looking around the abandoned building, "If no one remembers it you can come here in peace."

Sukasu nodded the movement barely visible in the dim light "This place also has one other feature I like." Sukasu moved a pile of broken wood, old bricks, and rusted metal in the middle of the floor to the side, where it joined more piles of debris. "Can you guess?"

"It leads outside the village," Neji responded, recognizing the metal plate in the floor.

"Ding!" Sukasu exclaimed softly, holding up a finger. "One for you. So you see, I can be in the village and not in the village at the same time."

"They won't detect you leaving?"

"Nope," Sukasu sang, her voice bright, "So come on let's go." Sukasu lifted the plate and slid down. Neji heard the soft tap as she landed at the bottom. Rolling his eyes he jumped down to meet her.

"You're awfully cheery," He commented, reaching up to close the plate behind him.

"I just haven't been outside the village in a while, that's all," Sukasu replied, her voice still bright but somewhat subdued in the darkened passage.

"Uh huh," Neji said moving to stand beside her, "So, Sunshine, we should probably get moving so you can get outside faster, right?" he teased.

Sukasu pouted, "You're cruel."

"You can be too, love," Neji replied, "But what I was really saying was we shouldn't stand in one place too long."

"Yeah yeah, you just want to get there faster, so you can hear my story."

"Maybe," he said with a playful smirk.

Sukasu rolled her eyes, "Alright, Neji-chan," She said reaching up to pat the top of his head. "Let's go, so you can hear your story."

Sukasu turned away, before he had time to reply. Grabbing his hand, she raced forward.

* * *

"What is it with you and caves?" Neji asked, staring up at the enormous rock face they had come to.

Sukasu glared at him. "My house isn't a cave."

"It's in a rock wall."

"It's an illusion." She retorted..

"It is?" he asked turning his face away, from the rock to raise an eyebrow at Sukasu.

"You of all people I thought would have noticed that by now," She said in answer to his question. "Yes, it's an actual house; I just prefer it to look the way it does."

"Like a cave? Why?"

Sukasu narrowed her eyes when he called her house a cave again. "It makes me feel safer, harder to punch through rock than wood," she muttered.

Neji gave a slow nod at her explanation, "True, though if they really wanted something I don't think it would matter."

"Perhaps" Sukasu murmured, lifting her hand up to place it on the rock in front of them. It glowed blue before cracks appeared in its sides and it groaned, rolling away from the entrance.

Stepping inside, she turned to him, raising an arm she said "Welcome, to my House of Peace." She let her arm fall to the side "Or Iwanoha, whichever you prefer," she added.

Neji chuckled, "I guess you came up with both if those names?"

"Yep, so pick one and come inside." she said in mock exasperation, crossing her arms.

"I'll stick with Iwanoha for now," He replied, stepping inside. The entrance closed off behind him.

"So," She said, leading Neji further into the rocky abode, "The grand tour or story time?"

Neji looked around taking in the hallway they were walking through and the doors on either side, the place was well furbished, and eerily similar to the layout of a certain other place. "I'm more curious about you and Shisui so the grand tour can wait."

"The kitchen it is then," Sukasu said rounding the corner and passing through a door, into the aforementioned kitchen.

Neji sat in on the kitchen chairs, expecting Sukasu to do the same, but she went to the fridge instead. "Good, well stocked just like I asked."

Her comment caused a question to pop into Neji's head that he chided himself for not thinking to ask about before. "Including you and me, how many others know about this place?"

Sukasu's head popped back around the refrigerator door. "Including you and me? two others."

"Two?"

Sukasu went back to pulling things out of the fridge and setting them on the counter. "Yeah, you, me, Kakashi, and Hinata, Kakashi because he found out on his own, and Hinata because of necessity."

Neji nodded, those two made sense, "Shisui doesn't know?"

"No," Sukasu said, closing the door to the fridge "She doesn't know, I found this after…" Sukasu trailed off as she contemplated her next words. "I guess it would be easier if I just told you about our past first before saying that, and then having to explain it, I'd just be going backwards." Sukasu nodded to herself coming to a conclusion.

"So now we're back to where we started." Sukasu gathered up the utensils she would need to make dinner. "Your question was what the deal between Shisui and I, right?"

"Yes"

Sukasu nodded to herself again, filling a pot with water she turned on the stove and placed the pot on the burner. "Well we're friends, but right now I think it would be more acceptable to say we were friends."

Sukasu took out a cutting board and knife and began chopping vegetables. "Her parents were both ninja, we met after she secretly followed her father to work one day. Her father was filling in for my usual guardian while they were out on a mission. i was still young at the time so I was guarded every day."

"Anyway, being my guardian is something of a secret, so when Shisui learned that he wasn't going to 'work' as usually and he couldn't tell her what he was doing she got curious and skip training with her team to follow him." Sukasu slid the chopped vegetables into the now boiling pot of water.

"Needless to say her father was upset with her, but looking back on it I think he knew she was there the entire time."

"He had been briefed that I was already in training as a ninja, so I suppose he thought Shisui and I could spar or something. I guess he wasn't thinking about age though," Sukasu smirked and shook her head, "Shisui's three years older than us, I don't think he realized pitting a six year old with a kekkei genkai and first year genin against each other isn't such a good idea, for the genin."

"But I suppose he lucked out," Sukasu said shrugging. "I didn't have full control over my power so Shisui and I were pretty evenly matched; we wore each other into the ground that day." Sukasu smiled at the memory.

"Shisui was surprised that someone like me was able to keep up with her, and I enjoyed the challenge of fight someone older than me, so I guess it worked out. We sparred almost every day after that, and gradually I began to open up to her."

"She knows all about you?" Neji asked.

Sukasu nodded "Shisui was very...accepting of everything, which surprised me. I guess that was around the time I started seeing her as a real friend. Her father and mother were accepting too, which surprised me even more. Her mother, she was very caring, and wouldn't let me go a day without food, she was fun but strict too, I think her mother was the closest I've ever gotten to knowing what a true mother was like. She didn't seem like someone who could kill you in heartbeat, but I'd heard stories of her skill as a ninja, Shisui takes after her."

"Eventually, they grew to be more like a family to me, but I could never bring myself to full open up. Shisui didn't mind though she treated me like I was her little sister. She watched over me, she protected me, she worried about me, she became so in tune with me emotions that she could detect the slightest shift in them without me ever saying a word. She still can, as you can see."

Neji nodded his head in attest, "She still protects you."

"So you noticed." Sukasu commented, looking back over her shoulder at him.

"It took me awhile but yeah, I noticed."

Sukasu went back to cooking "I'm guessing that's why you asked what you did?"

"Partially, but I was going to ask anyway, since even before then it seemed like you two knew a lot about each other. But if she feels this way towards you why did you both act so..." Neji trailed off.

Sukasu looked down, "Her parents died," She said as if it was an answer to his unfinished question.

"She blames you?"

Sukasu shook her head, "No, she blames herself." Sukasu gave the stove top a quick once over before joining Neji at the table. "They died protecting us, or more specifically protecting her."

"I had been sent out on a mission, and Shisui being who she was came with me. As my protection, said it was her mission or something. It was supposed to be simple but somewhere along the way the mission went awry, we got captured, and they came after us."

"Shisui blames herself for not being strong enough to protect me on her own and her parents dying because of it. It doesn't help to add to the fact that she got hurt when we were captured and I ended up protecting her."

"She wouldn't face me after that, and she slowly started to avoid me. I got lonely after she never came back for months on end. I started to think she probably hated me, it was a hard thought to process, and thinking like that upset me so at times when I couldn't deal with all my emotions I would search for a place where I wasn't confined and watched all the time. That's around the time I started coming here. That's why Shisui doesn't know about it, I would come here to make peace with my emotions."

"But, does she hate you?" Neji asked he seemed worried at the prospect.

"No, well at least no entirely," Sukasu replied, "I think somewhere deep down she must despise me for what happened, us getting captured was my fault after all…Sometimes I think she might suspect that I hate her," she murmured softly as an afterthought.

"What happened?" Neji asked, frowning.

Sukasu sighed. "I let my emotions get the better of me and ended up setting off a trap, enemy ninja found me, she got caught up in it."

Neji nodded, he could understand that. "So wait, she blames herself for that too?" he asked.

Sukasu nodded, "She thinks that if she had been stronger she would have been able to stop me, or if not, at least get us out. But that's not what happened. Her parents received word of our capture and came after us, and in the process of getting us out, they died."

Sukasu sighed again, "She thinks it's her fault they died, but I don't think she realizes that no parent would leave their child and their child's best friend to fend for themselves, after being captured. They would have come and saved us anyway, that was their choice, not her's. She shouldn't blame herself for their deaths."

"Do you blame yourself?" Neji asked.

"For us getting captured, yes, but for their death's no." Sukasu answered shaking her head. "After I got myself stuck up in the trees over top of the river with a pack of wild dogs chasing me, and they came to my rescue, I blamed myself. Her mom gave me this really stern look after I apologized for the millionth time and said "If anything happens to either of you, both of us would coming running, no matter what, and that's our choice so don't go blaming yourself. Instead of apologizing you should say thank you." Her mom gave me the same look that day that she gave me right before she died; it reminded me that I shouldn't blame myself for what they did, and neither should Shisui."

"But she still does blame herself." Neji commented softly.

"Yeah she doesn't even call herself my nee-san anymore, I'm her 'rival'" there was an edge to Sukasu's voice as she said the word.

"I recall that, what is this rival thing anyway? You two don't have competitions." Neji stated.

Sukasu snorted "Of course not her calling herself my rival is her crazy form of punishing herself for everything that happened. She knows we'll never be able to beat each other no matter how hard we try. Even in the moments where she might gain the upper hand she could never bring herself to finish it. But on the other hand it's her way of getting closer without getting to close. Her way of facing me, if you will." Sukasu had a bitter edge to her voice as she ended her explanation.

"Well at least she is able to face you now, even if it is as a rival."

Sukasu's expression turned sad and she looked down. "See? That's the point I don't want her to face me as a rival, I don't want her to blame herself, I don't want her to suffer like that. I want her to be able to face me without think she has to punish herself. I want her to face **me,** as my nee-san, nothing more and nothing less."

"Well maybe you can make her see that it's not her fault."

"I've tried, it didn't work."

"Try harder, it's not like you to give up, so try harder." Neji shot back.

Sukasu looked up at him, a small smile on her face "You're right, sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. I _have_ tried and it _didn't_ work, but that didn't mean I stopped _trying_."

Neji gave a mock sigh of relief "Good I almost thought that I was going to have to take you to the hospital and get you checked out because that definitely didn't sound like the stubborn, pushy girl I know."

"Shut up" Sukasu said, her voice sounded annoyed, but she was smiling.

Something else popped into Neji's head, "that reminds me, what did you say to her early, after she threw the kunai?"

Sukasu cocked her head in confusion, "What? Weren't you listening?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't hear the last part."

Sukasu frowned, "After she threw the kunai…it's like I told you before she can't beat me, because she cares about me, as much as she tries to deny it, I just reminded her of that. I told her 'you can't kill someone you love', at least not in cold blood."

"So that's why she looked like that, like she was in pain?" he asked.

Sukasu nodded, "Its cuz what I said made her remember everything before her parents passed. That…causes her pain. But, as cruel as it was, I needed to do that, it's my way of telling her it's okay."

"You think if you keep repeating how she feels about you it will help?"

"Possibly, and vice versa, if I continue to tell her my feelings she might realize…but what I meant was the memories, if she can look back at everything without being pained by it, it would mean she's slowly learning to not take the blame for everything. I think it might help, I don't know. Maybe I'm just crazy."

"Perhaps, but it might be worth it, if you can remind her of the good times instead of the bad."

"Yeah," Sukasu replied softly, she looked tired, the day had drained her and the refreshing effects of her nap had obviously long since worn off.

"Okay, one last question."

"Go ahead"

"Do you have any idea, why she's working for the Hyuuga?"

"Sukasu shook her head slowly, "No, I have no idea, why?"

"Just curious," Neji responded with a smirk.

A/N: So yeah, Sukasu+Shisui=don't really know what's going on, Strained friendship maybe? yeah, I'll try and clear that up as the story progresses, because this definitely ain't over yet. As always thank you! and please review!


	21. Morning

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: SORRY SORRY SORRY, Yes, it has been over two months, No, I did not fall off the face of the earth, I contracted that terrible disease we call writer's block, it was horrible and I hope I never have to go through that ever again although I can't guarantee anything since I kind of brought the whole thing upon myself when I messed up in my timing last chapter and ended up skipping a scene that was supposed to be there and i din't figure it out till I started typing this chapter and by that time is was too late to replace chapter 20 and then I had to figure out a way around it and thus Writers Block! two months of absolute hell. And i know it was probably horrible for you guys too so i'm not going to ramble and you all can start reading, unless you skipped this in which case you started reading a long time ago.

Shout Outs: THANK YOU EVERYONE! Thank's for sticking with me despite my disappearance, hugs and kisses and world domination for everyone whose favorited, followed, and reviewed thus far! Also, Thanks to... **NightlyRowenTree **(p.s. yes deary I will indeed update as fast as I possibly can)**, and freethinker1993** for favorite-ting, following, and reviewing, **cuddlebunny0330, LoneWolf180, and Ali Kaulitz **for favorite-ting, **ArashiKuroi, Alabaster Princess, gOthiCkUrOcHo69, and Magby** for following, and to **AthenaDrowned, TheLastBerry, catshare96, trixms, kaylaanime1492901, fairymoon7, and graceful. nyxx **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 21**

"So what's the plan?" Neji asked, watching his fingers twist and twirl through Sukasu's hair.

They were sitting on the couch, or rather he was sitting. Sukasu was lying down spread out with her head in his lap, reading.

"Hm?" She asked, lowering the book just enough so that her eyes appeared over the top. Her eyes searched his for a moment before she brought the book back up to cover her face. "I have one...but you're not going to like it."

"Hm," Neji murmured shifting his weight so that he could rest his head against his other hand. "Let me guess," he said his eyes trained on the clock on the wall, across the room. "It involves me staying here?" His eyes flickered downward towards Sukasu for a brief moment before he raised them again.

He felt the subtle shifting of her head in his lap as she nodded.

Neji closed his eyes and exhaled, letting all his frustration out in a single breath. "And why, may I ask," he paused the motion of his finger through her hair. "Is that?"

Sukasu finally put the book down deciding she wasn't going to be able to finish it with the way this conversation was going.

Her mouth formed a frown as she responded. "The answer to that is obvious."

Neji cracked open one eye, his displeasure with her response hidden just beneath the surface of the calm mask he had placed over his face. "So you're implying that it's safer for you to go back there _alone_," he let out the word with a hiss, the mask slipped and his anger became evident for a second, "and leave me here, than it is for me to go with you?"

Sukasu let out a sigh and her frown disappeared but her eyes reflected her own aggravation. "If I was going back there with you what would be the point of leaving in the first place?"

"You're right, what would be the point?" He shot her question back at her with narrowed eyes.

Sukasu rolled her eyes, "Put it this way, if you were there it would cause problems for me."

Neji raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to retort but, Sukasu stopped him, raising a finger. "Let me finish."

Neji closed him mouth reluctantly and nodded.

"If you were there Hisashi would be able to use you against me. Things could get out of hand and end up going the wrong way, you understand?" She asked in a serious tone, looking up at him.

Neji stared at her for a moment a little shocked at what her words had just implied. _Does that mean? Well obviously, but...wouldn't it be easier for her to just... I wonder if..._

"Neji?" Sukasu inquired, wondering why he had remained silent despite his heated; but never explicitly stated opposition to her reasoning. Sukasu lifted a hand to tap a finger against his cheek.

The unexpected contact broke Neji out of his train of thought. He blinked, his brain registering that he had yet to respond to Sukasu's question.

He blinked again, a smirk slowly making its way across his face. "So," he said, shifting his position again bending forward so that their noses were almost touching. "Are you saying that I'm your weakness?"

A light blush scattered over Sukasu's cheeks and lowered her gaze mumbling something unintelligible

"I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you," Neji murmured leaning even closer, "What was that?"

Sukasu took a deep breath to gain some control over her body's reactions to their close proximity.

"I said," She began surprised she was able to keep her voice level, "That should be obvious since, Neji what are you doing!" Sukasu exclaimed.

Neji chuckled at her seemingly sudden outburst, his breath tickling the side of her neck where he had just placed a chaste kiss.

He lifted his head slightly to look her in the eye, "That was my thank you," he sat back in his seat on the couch, "for being such a loving girlfriend."

Sukasu flushed, embarrassed, "Well that's only natural isn't it? I-I mean I care about you so…"

Neji raised an eyebrow, "You care about me and…" he prompted.

"I...lo-like you."

Neji chuckled again, "Nice try," he said "but I think you're using the wrong word."

Sukasu's blush deepened, and she looked away, "I…" she paused.

"I," Neji repeated leaning forward once more so that she was forced to look at him, "Come on," he prompted placing a kiss on her cheek.

"I lo.." her mouth formed the words but no sound came out, she tried again, Neji placed another kiss on her cheek but this one was lower, closer to her mouth.

"I love," Another kiss.

"I love you," the words came out in a whisper but it was enough, Neji's lips met hers and they melded together. Sukasu brought her hands up to thread them through his hair bringing his face closer to hers, deepening the kiss. All too soon he pulled away but, he brought his face back down so that their foreheads were touching. "And I love you," he whispered back.

A shy smile found its way onto Sukasu's face.

Neji moved his arms sliding one under Sukasu's legs and the other around her back, and lifted.

Sukasu's arms tightened their hold around his neck. "Neji what are you doing?"

Even though Neji couldn't see her, he knew that her eyes were narrowed in suspicion at his actions.

"Taking you to bed."

"What!" Sukasu exclaimed, struggling to remove herself from his arms. "But I...we...that's."

Neji let out a deep chuckle at her response. "I mean to sleep"

"But," Sukasu pouted. "I'm not sleepy."

Neji outright laughed at her childish response. "Really, well I guess that nap earlier did you some good then. But I didn't get a nap and it's late so I'm going to sleep."

"You don't have to take me with you though."

Neji looked down at the woman in his arms. "Keep me company?"

Sukasu looked up at him her face softening at his question. "Yeah."

* * *

"So, Neji escaped." It wasn't a question.

Shisui nodded, and then realizing that her master's back was to her she replied verbally. "Yes."

"I would demand that you tell me how but that seems like quite the arbitrary thing to do so for your sake, indulge me."

Shisui nodded, again forgetting that Hisashi could not see her, as she relayed the events of earlier that evening.

"It seems he did not escape by his own power, considering that his chakra was suppressed it would be impossible," Shisui paused. That comment had been unnecessary, she was beginning to ramble. It would not serve her well to ramble, that would be out of character her for her and thus translate into nervousness. It would not do to show any signs of nervousness at the moment. At least not beyond what one would show in this situation. Which for her, amounted to pretty much none at all.

Shisui continued on, relating her encounter with Sukasu. An errant thought struck her as she replayed the memory, "About the way the two escapees acted towards each other...it seems that his relationship with the girl is more complex than I've been lead to believe." At this Shisui raised her head, letting her words speak for themselves.

"Perhaps you're referring to the so called 'love' between the two." Hisashi said, finally turning to face his subordinate. "A distressing matter to be sure, but not at all different from what I originally told you, she's just using him." Hisashi waved a hand dismissively. "Continue."

Shisui hesitated, "Forgive me, but if I may inquire as to why..." Shisui trailed off. "If she only saw him as a mere stepping stone wouldn't she have immediately, excuse my use of the word, thrown him away, as soon as you locked him up?" She continued rephrasing her original question.

Hisashi nodded in a way that made her assume he had expected this response from her. "Yes, I see your point, but maybe he did something that made her come to his 'rescue'."

"Did something? Like he enticed her?"

"Yes, maybe he did something that caused her distress; say made her angry or upset perhaps. Maybe she wanted an explanation, something he wouldn't give her unless she helped him escape, you see?"

Shisui brought her eyes up to meet her master's; his were fixed on hers waiting and expectant. "Yes...I suppose," She finally replied.

* * *

Neji woke to the smell of pancakes floating in through the open door of the bedroom. He sat up, noting that the space next to him was empty.

Rising from the bed, Neji followed the scent of food down the hallway, to the kitchen, to find Sukasu standing in front of the stove flipping pancakes, and a guest at the table.

Neji hid his surprise at the fact that there was another person in their little hideout. "Good morning, Sukasu, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi gave Neji his customary greeting, never looking up from whatever ichi novel he was reading.

Sukasu shot Neji a quick smile over her shoulder, and pointed the spatula in her hand over her shoulder at the table. "Morning, Neji breakfast is almost ready so until then you can just join Kakashi at the table."

Neji nodded, making his way slowly towards the table. He was still wary of the fact that Kakashi was even there in the first place.

Neji studied Kakashi carefully, wondering if he knew about their little escape other day. _Knowing him he probably does. So then, if he knows about it then he knows all about what Sukasu did. Obviously he's not trying to take me back, and Sukasu seems fine with him being here. Which brings me back to my original question. Why the fuck is he here?_

"You're probably wondering why I'm here."

Neji sat back in the chair and crossed his arms. "More or less"

"I called him here," Sukasu answered from the other side of the kitchen.

Neji shifted his attention from Kakashi to Sukasu. "You did?" He repeated raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"She called me here to keep an eye on you."

The look on Neji's face was priceless. If only Kakashi had a camera, he would have taken a picture.

"Keep an eye on me? What am I, A five year old child in timeout?"

"No," Sukasu answered placing a plate piled high with pancakes on the table in front of the two men.

"Then why do I need someone to watch me?" Neji asked staring after Sukasu back as she turned around to get the rest of the food.

"Be-"

"To be honest I'd like to know the same thing," Kakashi interrupted finally placing his novel down on the table. "Why am I here? Neji is more than capable of taking care of himself, even in this situation."

Sukasu sent Kakashi a glare as she placed the last of the bacon and eggs on the table. "You know exactly why you're here, Kashi-nii."

_Kashi...nii?_ Neji snorted internally, _He actually let's her...No never mind that's not the point here._ "Yeah, he might know but I still don't."

Sukasu sat down at the table, "Well, I was about to explain before this baka cut me off," Sukasu gave Kakashi another, in her opinion, well deserved glare.

Which Kakashi ignored, causing Sukasu to get even more annoyed and attempt to knock the little orange book out his hand.

Neji sighed, sliding a pancake off the towering stack in front of him on to his own plate, and left the two other ninja at the table to their own devices. _Since obviously I'm not going to be receiving an explanation for why there's a third person at the table, until they stop. _

It wasn't until he looked up to see Sukasu threatening Kakashi at fan point. Which was quite an interesting site, considering that Kakashi was currently on the ceiling. To put the book down and eat; that he figured they had had their fun and he was tired of waiting.

"Since you two have obviously forgotten about me." Neji cut in, waving at his now empty plate. "I guess I'll go take a shower and come back later to see if you'll explain to me then."

Sukasu turned away from Kakashi to take in Neji's empty plate and the irritated look that was slowly making itself known on his face.

The look that swept across Sukasu's face in that moment was odd for her, and probably would have caused any other person who didn't know her as well to pause and think about the events that lead to it. Then possibly apologize although not knowing the reason as to why they were doing it in the first place.

But not Neji, he made a show of not saying a word; instead he stood up making it purposefully slow, and left the room.

He made it halfway down the hallway before he heard the muffled crashes and shouts and the pounding of feet behind him.

Turning he sidestepped just in time to avoid being hit by Sukasu and end up on the floor in a tangled mess of limbs.

Reaching out he grabbed her arm to stop her from barreling straight past him.

Sukasu lost her footing, stumbling a bit from the unexpected contact. Before finally finding her feet and turning to Neji with a bewildered expression.

"Ne-ji?" Sukasu stuttered over his name and let it pass over lips in the form of a question.

"Yes?" Neji replied. _Really, who else would it be?_

Sukasu blinked and straightened up but Neji's hand remained on her arm unmoving. "Oh, um, I thought that you would have been in the shower already."

"That fast?"

A light pink colored Sukasu cheeks as she responded. "Well you seemed pretty upset so...yeah, I guess."

Neji sighed through his nose before offering her a light smile. "I wasn't particularly upset."

_Lie._

Sukasu's face went blank and she didn't say anything. Tilting her head to the side she studied him, her eyes never leaving his face.

Neji shifted wondering what she was thinking, but her expression didn't give anything away.

He suffered for a moment under the uncomfortable silence, before Sukasu's sigh broke through the air.

"Come on, let's go." She finally said before turning to head in the direction of the bathroom.

Neji didn't move he was still trying to understand exactly what had just transpired.

Sukasu noticed the absence of Neji's presence and turned once again to face him. He still hadn't moved from his spot.

"Come on," she called out again. "You wanted to know why Kakashi's here right? I'll tell you while you shower."

Neji jerked his head in her direction, his face a mirror of confusion. "What? You're not going to eat and wait until I get back?"

Sukasu shrugged, "No, it's easier this way without Kakashi being there."

Neji a crease formed on Neji forehead. "Without Kakashi? Why?"

Again Sukasu shrugged, not really answering his question. She continued on her trek to the shower. This time Neji followed.

"So you're telling me that Kakashi is here, because you're going back to the compound to speak with my uncle. And you don't want me to do anything that involves coming after you and or otherwise going anywhere near or around Konoha for the time being."

Sukasu sat on the edge of the covered toilet resting her head in her hands. "That's part of it, yes."

Neji sighed. "And again I ask, do you see me as a child?"

"No," Sukasu let the word drag out.

Neji stopped what he was doing and took the time to slide the curtain back just enough to see her face. "You're not telling me everything are you?" He asked the accusation evident in his tone.

Sukasu sighed, "No, I'm not."

"And why's that?"

Sukasu shifted in her seat, "No particular reason, really."

"Then why not tell me," Neji pulled the curtain back into place punctuating his statement.

"Hm, well," Sukasu mumbled something unintelligible before speaking up again. "The other reason Kakashi is here is that, in case someone randomly happens to find this place, you're going to need help defending yourself and whatnot. Also if they do manage to find this place it means you're going to have to switch hideouts and if I'm not here Kakashi is the only other person who can get you there."

Neji stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist then grabbing another one for his hair.

"You could just tell me how to get there." Neji pointed out, his voice muffled by the towel draped over his face.

"Yeah I could," Sukasu admitted, averting her eyes "But you wouldn't be able to get in."

"And Kakashi can?"

"Sadly, yes" Sukasu acquiesced, muttering something under her breath.

The small detail obviously annoyed her. But her muttering reminded Neji of something similar that had happened earlier.

"Hey" Neji started, letting the towel drop from his hand and settle around his shoulders.

Sukasu looked up, sensing another question. "Yes?"

"Earlier, when you were telling me why Kakashi was here; you said something but I didn't hear you."

"Yes?" Sukasu blinked up at him with a childlike innocence that Neji presumed was most definitely nonexistent in this case.

"What did you say?" Neji continued, sighing inwardly. He really didn't like the way this was going. One second she was willing to share everything the next she wanted to keep even the smallest detail a secret. He really didn't understand her thinking sometimes.

"Oh that," Sukasu said standing up, and moving to lean against the door frame. "I probably said something along the lines of 'that went better than expected.'"

Neji paused, one hand reaching out towards the medicine cabinet.

"Why would you say something like that?" He asked tilting his head over his shoulder to look back at her.

"Well," Sukasu started pressing a finger to her cheek. "I figured the first reason I gave you would probably damage your pride a little and you'd be upset. So I wanted to get it out the way before going on to the other reasons."

"Instead of listing the other reasons first and that one last and having to deal with all the upset later. But you didn't exactly go off the way I thought you would so, it 'went better than expected' I guess." Sukasu shrugged.

Neji turned his head and went back to rummaging through the medicine cabinet. The action caused his semi-dry hair to fall in a clump in front of his face obscuring it from view. Leaving Sukasu unable to discern his thoughts on her explanation.

"So what you're telling me is you thought I would go off like Naruto or Kiba?" Neji's voice was level, so Sukasu thought it safe to assume that he wasn't particularly angry, but his question caught her slightly off guard.

_Why would he want to know about that? It's not like I cared about how he was going to go off it was more like him going off in general. What does it matter about who it would be like?_

"No," Sukasu answered, "What i'm telling you is I thought that you would be a lot angrier than you were. Or at least you would show a lot more of it. Actually I was worried that you were going to try and forcefully throw Kakashi out." Sukasu grimaced, _which wouldn't have been pretty at all. _

Neji let out a light chuckle and then responded with "I might have. Had I not still been feeling the effects of those chakra suppresses and the fact that even half asleep I happen to highly value my life."

Sukasu snickered, and then her face turned serious. "Are you still feeling the suppressors even now?"

Neji nodded, "It's slight but I still feel like I won't be able to do anything beyond basic chakra manipulation right now, let alone my Byakugan."

Sukasu sighed, as her eye caught on to the still dripping wet ends of Neji's hair. "See this is why I asked Kakashi to come keep an eye on you, if you're still feeling like that." Leaning forward Sukasu grabbed a towel. "Sit, your hair's still wet. Let me dry it before you catch a cold."

A/N: Yay, another authors note! Not really, I'm tired and I don't have much to say besides, Yes I have started the next chapter and Yes, I do plan to update in a reasonable amount of time. Also for those struggling writers who are feeling blocked my advice is to write fluff, it doesn't matter what you think your brain is always capable of thinking up fluff! then writing it out will hopefully kick start your brain back to where it needs to be. Okay advice over, As always thank you! and please review!

Crazy, Wild, And Free


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: *insert really awkward laugh here* Okay so I'm guessing this is better than a whole other two months of waiting but it's definitely not when I wanted to update by a long shot. I'm actually a little annoyed with myself since I started this chapter the day I finished the last one, and i'm just now uploading TODAY! as I'm sure all of you have already noticed. I'm sorry I have failed you...again. I don't think I was really prepared for what was to happen after spring break but that's no excuse. i really should update when I say I'm going to update, anyways it's here now so enjoy!

Shout Outs: AGAIN, THANK YOU EVERYONE! for sticking with me AGAIN! Everyone whose favorited, followed, and reviewed thus far! Thanks to... **cathyscloud9, NightlyRowenTree, and Miko Hayashi **for reviewing, **dollinchains, HydeHijacktGackt, beautifulgreek523, tavitaalvarez33 and Kuramalover2006** for following, and to **awesomelydorky986, allyna1, and revillin **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 22**

Neji paced back and forth along the edges of the living room, his eyes unconsciously flickering up towards the clock every so often.

"Neji sit down and relax." Kakashi's bored voice floated over to where the teen was currently pacing, "She's not going to be gone forever."

Neji paused to glare at the silver-haired nin. "I know that," he responded curtly, "and that's not even close to what I was thinking about."

"Then what were you thinking about?" Kakashi asked, barely looking up from his book.

Neji seriously debated responding to Kakashi's question with some random snarky comment like _"How long it would take for you to become uncomfortable in a room full of cats" _just to see how he would react._ He'd probably just continue reading,_ Neji thought, and so he decided a simple "None of your business" would suffice.

"I thought you might say something like that." Kakashi still sounded utterly disinterested in the whole conversation, as he continued. "So I'll just assume my earlier guess was right."

"Well it's not"

"Then what is?" Kakashi asked again, finally glancing up only to go right back to reading.

"Why do you care?" Neji shot back.

"I don't"

Neji made an annoyed sound, somewhere between a huff and a sigh, "Then why ask?"

"Because if whatever you're thinking about is going to cause you to run out that door then it becomes my problem, and I'd have to care." _So I'd rather know now and be prepared, rather than run the risk of having to deal with it later._ "So is it?"

Neji eyed the other male warily, "What if it is?"

"Then I'll promptly knock you out, tie you to that chair you're currently sitting in, and drag your unconscious ass back to furthest room in this place and stand guard at the door."

"Was that supposed to be a threat?"

"No,"

Neji sent the man an incredulous look.

"It was a promise"

Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and looked away. "Fine, it does have to do with me leaving. But," he added on quickly when he noticed movement in Kakashi's direction. "It's not so I can run after Sukasu."

Neji dropped himself in the chair closest to him and continued. "To be completely honest, I was thinking about going to see the Hokage."

Kakashi lifted his one visible eyebrow in obvious question.

_So now he's interested_, Neji thought sardonically. "I want to ask her something."

When Neji didn't elaborate any further Kakashi was forced to speak up. "And this something you have to ask about is so important that you'd want to visit the Hokage without Sukasu knowing?"

Neji nodded glancing at the clock again. "If I leave within the next fifteen minutes I should be able to make it back before she does."

"Right, because you can predict exactly when she'll be coming back."

"No, I can't," Neji replied, closing his eyes to keep from glaring daggers at Kakashi. "But, I can predict when all of those pills restricting my chakra are going to wear off, and how long it will take me to reach the Hokage tower, speak to Tsunade and get back here."

"So you're trying to leave this safe hole in the ground, where you're virtually undetectable, to enter the village where you're quite detectable to speak to the Hokage, where you are also quite detectable." Kakashi reiterated. "You do realize that's basically the whole point of me being here, to keep you from doing exactly what you're trying to do, right?"

"Yes, so are you going to let me go?" Neji asked.

Kakashi avoided his question and answered with one of his own. "And what's going to happen if I let you go and she comes back before you?"

_Well then it's your problem not mine,_ Neji thought. "Then tell her I escaped or some shit like that," Neji said with a smirk.

"She wouldn't believe it," Kakashi deadpanned.

Neji's smirk grew wider. "Then come with me and we'll say you had some urgent business with the Hokage and because you didn't want to neglect either of your duties you decided to drag me along with you."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Do you have anything better?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"You stay here and we don't tell her anything."

"Not happening. Come on it's not like you want to stay cooped up in here anymore than I do. Why not just let me go, or come with me?"

Kakashi was silent weighing his options. Apparently, not being cooped up playing babysitter, won out against staying in their little hideout because he stood up and said. "For a smart kid, you just came up with one of the most idiotic plans I've ever been witness to."

Neji stood too. "I didn't have much to go on here, but I'll take that jab at my IQ as a confirmation that I can go."

Kakashi sighed in response.

* * *

15 minutes later the two males had left the hideout and made it through the underground passageway to the village and were currently taking the long route around, away from the Hyuuga compound, to the Hokage tower.

"So," Kakashi started as the made their way over the many rooftops of Konoha. "What is it you want to ask the Hokage that's so important you had to come out here and do it now?"

"I wanted her to clarify some things for me, and also to ask for a favor." Neji replied breathily. Despite the pills having worn off and gaining full use of his chakra again, he was still slightly winded from the lack of ideal exercise over the past month.

"Another vague answer, I'm guessing you really don't want to tell me what's going on."

"Not at the moment, No. But I'm sure you'll find out later one way or another. It's not like I'm trying to keep it a secret or anything I just don't feel like talking about it right now."

"You're starting to sound more and more like Sukasu. I believe she's beginning to rub off on you."

Neji shrugged. _Beginning? More like she already has, and you're just now noticing._

* * *

"The master will see you now," Shisui remarked quietly, sliding back the paper door.

"About damn time, if he can afford to be this relaxed I should have broken in a second time it would've been faster," Sukasu muttered as she slid past her old friend. The humorous light that flickered in Shisui's eyes at the young woman's comment did not go by her unnoticed.

Sukasu chuckled lightly to herself as she entered the room.

"It seems you're in a good mood for someone I could have arrested for trespassing." Hisashi spoke from his customary position behind his desk.

Sukasu's smile didn't falter. "On the contrary," she replied making herself comfortable. "You can't prove it was me."

"Can't I?" Hisashi murmured casting a disapproving eye over Sukasu's form.

Sukasu shrugged in response, and righted herself to a kneeling position. "If you really wanted to I suppose you could, but you won't, and that's not what I'm here for."

"Of course not, I highly doubt you came here just to turn yourself in, and you reasons for coming here are extremely vague. Coming here to discuss 'things' is hardly a valid response."

Sukasu smirked, "They don't need to know my reasons for being here."

"Yes but, Hana-san," the use of formality with her name was hardly meant as a friendly gesture, Sukasu's smirk fell. "_I_ do."

"Exactly, which is why I will only discuss what these 'things' are with you directly, and not through your ever loyal messengers."

"Well then Hana-san," Hisashi said steepling his fingers, "What was it you wanted to discuss?"

Sukasu resisted the urge to bristle, since she knew that was the reaction he wanted. Instead she shifted her position on her knees clasping her hands together over her lap, and schooled her features into a plain expression.

"Well for starters, I would like to discuss your nephew." Sukasu smiled inwardly in triumph when she caught Hisashi's frown. "And also, I see this as being quite obvious, but I would like to discuss some clan matters."

"I see," Hisashi's frown deepened, "continue."

* * *

The door to Tsunade's office opened slowly as Kakashi entered with Neji in tow.

The Hokage glanced over the rim of her sake bottle, taking in the two ninja before setting the clay bottle down with a sigh.

"Yes, Kakashi?" She didn't bother to mask her annoyance at the fact that her break had been interrupted. "Did you finally come to turn in your reports, or is this a friendly visit?"

"Neither actually," Kakashi replied rather quickly, practically shoving Neji into the room. "I'm sure you're aware of what's going on with a certain someone. Well, her boyfriend's here to speak with you about something." Kakashi explained patting Neji's shoulder.

"Don't know what it's about really, but I'm sure he'd rather speak to you in private, so I'm off."

And Kakashi disappeared out the window, leaving Neji to stand in the center of the room, quite awkwardly.

Neji blinked. "I think your comment about reports scared him off."

"It was supposed to," Tsunade replied. "Maybe now he'll actually get them done."

"I doubt that."

Tsunade sighed, "So, What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well there are some things I want to clarify involving Sukasu, and also my clan and then," Neji hesitated, "I wanted to ask for a favor."

Tsunade eyed Neji, "and these are 'things,' you can't ask her on your own?"

Neji shook his head. "I think even if I did she wouldn't know the answer or she wouldn't tell me the whole thing."

"And you think I would?"

"Yes"

Tsunade sat back in her chair. "Alright, but even if did know the answer what makes you think I would tell you?"

Neji answered honestly, "I don't know, but it's better than nothing."

Tsunade sighed motioning for Neji to have a seat. "Fine, something tells me this might take a while so have a seat. I'll only answer what I can though and nothing more got it?" She leveled Neji with a hard gaze.

"Hai"

"Ask away then."

Neji coughed a little. "Well then, what was the mission Sukasu's clan entrusted her with?"

* * *

Sukasu sat straight, _this is going smoother than I expected, _she thought.

"I'm waiting, Hana-san," Hisashi's less than pleased voice drifted across the room.

"Hm, yes, sorry just getting my thoughts together," Sukasu replied casually.

"They should have been together Hana-san," Hisashi remarked.

"Yes well, I didn't honestly believe I would get this far without you throwing me out," Sukasu countered with a flash of teeth, before she returned to a neutral expression.

"Anyway, I suppose I'll start with Neji."

Another disapproving glare was sent her way. She ignored it.

"I'll be blunt, you should have left him out of this," Sukasu stated calmly

"If I recall you were the one who brought him into this," Hisashi replied with equal calm.

"Not intentionally, I met him by coincidence what happened after that was merely an unexpected turn of events on the wheel of fate."

"You can't deny me that fact that you thought of the benefits of having him on your side. You did use him."

Sukasu shook her head. "I won't deny the fact that having him as a friend is an asset, but I didn't think of that till later. I wasn't using him deliberately."

"What you did however," She continued. "Was completely deliberate, and uncalled for."

"You can't deny me the right to want to protect him."

"Locking him in his room for a month and suppressing his chakra does not strike me as protection." Sukasu ground out.

"I'll admit it was a little more extreme than necessary."

"A little? It was more than extreme, but that's not my point. Neji is completely innocent!"

"Is?" Hisashi questioned. "I doubt that."

Sukasu bristled. "And whose fault is that. I'm not the one harboring scrolls from another clan behind my desk."

Hisashi didn't respond.

"Besides, from what I gathered those scrolls don't contain everything. So I stand by my claim that he is innocent, and because of that you should not have punished him."

"What is your point Hana-san?" Hisashi asked coolly.

"I thought I had already addressed that," Sukasu replied "but I guess I'll state it plainly."

"Neji should be left out of the matters involving you and me. What he does of his own accord is up to him. He is someone I care about and love very deeply so I will not bring him into this. I would like for you to do the same. I am not asking for my sake but for his, he should be left out."

"So you're saying you should like for me to let him roam free and do what he wishes even if it affects this clan's future?"

"I'll leave that for you to decide. I'm merely asking for you to not deliberately pull him into things."

Hisashi eyed Sukasu. "And the other things you wanted to discuss how do they factor in?"

Sukasu closed her eyes. "I would like to put an end to this nonsense of hostility between our clans."

* * *

"You want to know what her mission was. Can't you just ask her that?"

Neji shrugged. "I don't think she knows all the details."

Tsunade sighed. "Neither do I really, that mission was kept under wraps by everyone in her clan. Only the people involved really knew about it and there's nothing explicitly written on the subject."

"Then tell me what you do know."

"That mission was meant to wipe out the entire Hyuuga clan."

"Sukasu was meant to infiltrate and assassinate. She was to be brought to the clan as a pseudo peace offering between the two, and was to marry into your clan."

"There were other measures put in place as to not arouse suspicion. But ultimately they failed. Apparently there were many factors, but the main one was the assassination of one of the Hana's higher ups. Someone in the clan was obviously against this whole covert operation and decided to put a stop to it. There are some other smaller details, but the gist of it is the Hyuuga found out and all negotiations were cut. The Hana were destroyed soon after and so Sukasu was left to take the brunt of the Hyuuga's anger, anything else?"

"Do you know the identity of the Person who performed the assassination?"

"No, that was still being evaluated when the whole compound was razed to the ground; most of the evidence was lost."

Neji was quiet processing this information then, "Who was it she was supposed to marry?"

Tsunade smiled at the question "I don't think it would have mattered really do you? But since you're asking, I believe as a matter of respect and honor towards the clan the most likely candidate would be a male of a higher rank of roughly around the same age."

"But, it would also be a position where she wouldn't be allowed any movement, power wise, and could be watched constantly. So who do you think it was?"

Neji listened to the Hokage's long winded response piecing the different parts together in a matter of seconds. When he reached the answer his face went blank. "Oh"

"Figured it out? Well that answers one of your questions doesn't it, what's the next one?"

"This one just came to mind but, when we met, the first time, that wasn't planned, was it?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Completely coincidental, but I'm sure she put the pieces together eventually. She's a smart girl, that one. "

"So she knew?"

"It's quite possible that she did but it's also quite possible that she didn't know until a short while ago. Still the opposite is also true; it's quite possible that she doesn't know at all. That's something you'll have to ask her I'm afraid, next question."

"The seal on Sukasu's back, what's the real reason it's there?"

* * *

Hisashi's eyes widened a fraction, "You would like to…"

"Put an end to our hostilities, Yes," Sukasu finished for him.

"I find that hard to believe."

"After not showing any signs of hostility towards your clan, helping one of your own on a mission, becoming friends with them and helping them train while not using them as ransom for anything, and then trespassing, breaking into your home and summarily leaving with that same person you had unrightfully locked up for a month, yes I suppose it would be hard to believe."

"Your sass is uncalled for Hana-san."

"Is it?" Sukasu muttered. "Well as I was saying, I have a proposal but, before you respond I would like to put some things to rest."

"For starters that blasted mission your old geezers think I'm still trying to pull off. I'm not and never have tried to put that into action."

"As you very well know I was locked up and used as a tool the first few years of my life. That mission was a plan put in place by my clan that I had nothing to do with. I see no reason to destroy any of you, especially not now. The only reason I went along with it was because I was promised that I would never be locked up in a cell ever again. But obviously as you can see I'm not locked up, visibly anyway, and destroying your clan would do nothing for me now."

Hisashi opened his mouth to retort but Sukasu held up her finger. "I'm not done."

"Secondly, that attempt on your life, which I assume you were about to bring up. If you were a child who had been locked up and feared hated for what you are seen as nothing more than a weapon and suddenly you have people of a different clan blaming you for something you had no control over and then trying to assassinate that very same traumatized little girl after which a person of that very same clan is assigned to protect you? How would you react, I wonder if you were in my shoes? In my mind I was protecting myself before I got hurt even more. But I also realize that trying to kill you was not the best move and so I formally apologize to you for that."

Hisashi looked almost surprised at her actions but he had no time to respond for Sukasu continued.

"Honestly, I am tired. I'm tired of always having to look over my shoulder, always having this threat on the back of my mind. I have too many things to worry about and I'm sure the same goes for you but, as you can see I'm one person against an entire clan. I would like for once to interact with your family without wondering if it will get me killed. So please I beg of you, please think about my offer."

This time Hisashi really did look surprised for Sukasu was on her hands and knees bowing low in front of him. His eyebrows knit together.

"Sit up Hana-san there is no need for you to prostrate yourself in front of me but, how do I know you're being truthful about all of this?"

Sukasu lifted her head from the floor her gaze almost piercing. "Because I have friends in this household that I care about, because I have friends outside this household that care about the people in it, and because I am in love with your nephew. I love Neji and I would never do something that would hurt him or betray his trust in me."

Hisashi bowed his head. "I see, you... make some compelling arguments Hana-san but however convinced I am this matter also concerns the elders and so I must delay my response until I can take the matter up with them. For now I can merely offer my truce."

Sukasu looked relieved. "That's all I ask."

Hisashi looked tired as he asked, "Will that be all Hana-san?"

"Yes," Sukasu said standing, "I have said my piece."

"Well then, until next time."

Sukasu bowed her head. "Until next time...Hisashi-sama," She replied, sliding the door back and stepping into the hallway.

A/N: Yay, another chapter done! I actually had a lot of fun writing some of this and then I expedience some weird walls in others, I think this chapter is pretty self explanatory, a ton of discussions, I cut it off in the middle of Neji's discussion for a reason, gives me something to work with for the next chapter. And to all of you who thought this fic would end when the whole HyuugaHana issue was resolved you are wrong! This is just one plot bunny in my hoard of bunnies! I have MORE! As always thank you! and please review!

Over and Out


	23. Lies and Explainations

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So I'm pretty sure this is the fastest I've updated in about 6 months, pretty sure, but I guess that's what summer does to you. Anyway this chapter has, I guess it's a lime? Yeah a lime at the end, just some fair warning for ya ya'll are probably gonna hate me by the end of this. over and out.

Shout Outs: THANK YOU! whose favorited, followed, and reviewed thus far! Thanks to... **cathyscloud9, and Insanity runs through my vains **for reviewing, **CaraTheWitch**for following, and to **Miss Megan Leigh, Insanity runs through my vains, and Dream-Eater Lotus **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 23**

"The seal on Sukasu's back, what's the real reason it's there?"

Tsunade eyed Neji, a little wary of the nature of the question. "What do you mean? You should already know what it's there for didn't Sukasu explain it to you?"

"Yes, I know it's there to seal her powers and you can use it to track her but why? Why take all those precautions. I mean, yes she destroyed an entire compound as a child. But that's because she had been locked up with no real training. With all that chakra that had nowhere to go it's understandable that it could cause such a disaster, if it was released all at once, but once she learned to control it, what's the point of keeping the seal?"

Tsunade let out a sigh, bringing a hand up to rub the side of her face. "Are you aware of the reasons Sukasu was kept under lock and key? The origins of the flower style and the creation of her clan?"

"Somewhat"

"Fine, that's less to explain, so I'll continue. Are you aware that Sukasu was the first child born into the clan able to use the style in almost 100 years?"

"No, I was aware that it has been a long time since there were others like her from the information I had already, but I wasn't aware it had been that long. Is this why you keep the seal because you don't have enough information on the extent of her powers?"

"Something like that, but the reasoning isn't all there. Due to constant recording and the salvaging of any undamaged records we have a pretty good idea of the extent of a normal Hana user's power. But Sukasu's power doesn't quite fall under that range."

"What do you mean?"

"Her powers can exceed that preset limit."

"How do you figure that?"

"There was an old legend we came across when we were researching that led us to believe that Sukasu is a reincarnation of the first most powerful of her clan, the first ancestor if you will."

"Alright, and what was this legend exactly?"

"The legend goes as such, over time the blood of the first became more and more diluted through marriage the extent of the power of those who could control the style would become lesser as well. However, once in every generation that produced a daughter or son of the flower, there would be one that inherited the powers of the first, or something along those lines. We don't know how accurate this information is though, since those people thought to be reincarnations could have just been extremely powerful for their time and it had nothing to do with ancestors' blood at all. But if we believe the former to be true then because…"

"Because Sukasu is the only person born in her generation with the ability to harness this power you believe she inherited it?" Neji finished.

"Yes, but there's another part."

"Another?" Neji repeated, raising his eyebrows

"Yes, despite the fact that these persons were the most powerful in their generations they did not inherit everything. We've come to the conclusion that they've only been able to harness about 40% of this power in addition to their own abilities. But, because Sukasu was not only the first in her generation but also the first in a hundred years; a hundred years for this power to manifest itself and grow amongst those where the ability remained dormant. We have reason to believe that she is able to access more of this ancestral ability than any of her predecessors."

"How much?"

"Well, this is only speculation but we're looking at about 75 percent, maybe more."

"75 percent? That's almost double the amount the others were able to achieve," Neji exclaimed, "But again, if she were able to control it…"

Tsunade nodded, "And therein lies the problem. We don't know what this power will do to her if she is able to harness it." "This...ability, as far as we can tell, is a double edged sword. She can become extremely powerful if she was able to control it but, the stress it would put on her body would destroy her, she'd die."

"So, in order to keep this from happening, you've sealed this extra power and you track her, to make sure nothing happens."

"Basically," Tsunade responded. "Because we only know this much there's not much else we can do."

"You're protecting her from herself," Neji sighed. "She doesn't know about all this, does she?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, knowing her if she found out she'd want the seal off immediately. She's the type that would take that risk, even if it kills her."

Neji nodded but he still looked troubled. "I see your reasoning for keeping the seal but you should still tell her. Keeping her in the dark about this could eventually do more harm than good. If you're acting under the assumption that Sukasu is a reincarnation able to harness 75% of her ancestral power. You should also act under the assumption that other people outside the village could also be privy to this information and use it against her. If Sukasu remains unaware of the situation, then it could turn into a disaster, which could have been best been avoided. Protecting her from herself is one thing but protecting her from others that would want to hurt her is equally important, don't you think?"

"Yes, I suppose, but it's the reckless factor...I'm worried about how she'll react."

"Then let me tell her."

"What makes you think her reaction will be any different if you tell her."

"Again, I don't know. But something tells me she might take it better if she heard it from me."

"But then, she'd wonder how you knew this information in the first place."

"Then I'll tell her the truth."

Tsunade sighed. "If you think it will work then I'll allow you to tell her, but on one condition."

Neji nodded, "Of course. You are allowing me to tell her information that should have been reserved for you to tell her yourself anyway."

"You tell her here, in my presence," Tsunade ordered.

Neji bowed his head slightly, "Of course, Lady Tsunade"

"Good, now that we have that settled are there any more questions you'd like to ask?" Tsunade questioned her tone heavy. She was tired.

"Only one more," Neji answered his voice apologetic.

"Well? Get on with it."

"Sukasu's guardians, are they necessary?"

Brown eyes stared into lavender, as the Hokage studied the young Hyuuga for the umpteenth time that day.

"I wouldn't say they're unnecessary," she answered slowly, "But I trust you're asking this question for good reason as well?"

Neji shifted, "It's more of a selfish reason, actually."

"You would like to become her new guardian?" Tsunade guessed.

"As a matter of fact, No but, at the risk of pushing my boundaries, I would like to ask for another favor."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

"Could we abolish this guardian system that's in place?"

Tsunade blinked and sat straighter, though the question didn't seem to startle her. "You don't like it," She stated.

"I get having a guardian as a child but, Sukasu is able to take care of herself and have a guardian now is," Neji paused, looking away "It's almost like she's being mocked," he continued, his voice lower.

"Have you spoken to her about this?"

Neji looked up surprised, before garnering a sheepish look. "No, but I plan to, so I don't need a response today, but...I just...wanted you to know…" Neji trailed off, looking away again.

Tsunade's eyes softened. "I'll think about it," she cut in.

Neji gave her a look of thanks before turning his attention to the window. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, I really appreciate you giving me some of your time today."

Tsunade smiled, "Of course, besides having you here meant I could avoid filing those awful papers," she laughed.

Neji offered a small smile in return. "Well I should go, since I'm not actually supposed to be here."

Tsunami nodded, still chuckling "Fine fine, go home to your girlfriend."

Neji offered her another smile and a short bow before heading for the window.

"And Neji," Tsunade called after him all traces of humor gone.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Sukasu's a wonderful girl, but she's not the best at these types of relationships. She isn't always as open as she needs to be so, be patient with her, please."

Neji bowed his head again, "Hai," he responded softly, before turning and leaping out the window.

Tsunade watched shaking her head. Sometimes I wonder if they know the doors not just for show, they can use them too."

* * *

Neji ran into Kakashi about three blocks away from the Hokage tower.

"Yo," Kakashi called, "You find out everything you wanted?"

"Yeah," Neji replied, "Did you listen in?"

"No," Kakashi replied in mock offense, "Actually I remembered that there was a new book on sale at the book store begging for my attention and…"

Neji rolled his eyes tuning him out, "Sure there was, did you also swing by the Hyuuga compound just to make sure Sukasu wasn't leaving?" He asked sarcastically.

"Yes," Kakashi responded.

Neji stopped running. "You did?"

Kakashi continued past him, "Yes I did actually, and from what I could tell she was still deep in her conversation with Hisashi-sama but, that was a little while ago. There's a possibility she could have left before us…" Kakashi hinted.

"Then we should speed up," Neji said, doing exactly that.

* * *

Luck was on their side, they arrived back at the hideout a mere five minutes before Sukasu.

When she entered the living room her eyes narrowed in suspicion at their relaxed forms. _Too relaxed,_ she thought.

"Yo," Kakashi called to her from the couch.

Neji looked up from the novel he was reading. "You're back," He said.

"Hey," she greeted the two in return, walking towards them slowly.

Neji shifted to make room for her on the couch.

Which Sukasu gladly accepted flopping down next to him.

"How'd it go?" He asked, glancing over at her.

"Fine, it went better than I expected," Sukasu admitted. "We came to an understanding on some things."

"Oh well, that's good right?" Neji asked, turning a page on the book he was reading even though he wasn't really paying attention to it.

"Yeah," Sukasu replied tilting her head slightly, her suspicions rising. "So how was your day?" She asked.

"Uneventful," Neji replied, glancing over at Kakashi, before returning his attention to Sukasu and changing the subject. "If your audience went well does that mean we'll be able to enter the village without any problems?"

Sukasu leaned back letting her head rest on the top of the couch. "It should but, I would be careful about it. Give it a couple of days and then we can return. Word should have gotten around the Hyuuga compound by then."

Neji nodded then leaned back mimicking her position. "That's good then. No offense, but I wouldn't want to have to stay here forever."

Sukasu rolled her head to the side to look at him, her eyes narrowing again. "None taken," she dragged out. "Are you sure nothing happened? You two seem awfully relaxed, especially for someone who was against me going to visit the compound in the first place."

"Nothing happened," Neji repeated. "Besides everything turned out okay in the end right? You're back, why shouldn't I be relaxed?"

Sukasu sat up, "That would have been an acceptable answer had I not seen you two right before I walked in here. You were both silent and you weren't even looking at the clock. I've been gone nearly six and a half hours, you know. That's a little too relaxed," She ended her eyes rounding on Neji.

Neji's face remained passive. "I'm serious nothing happened, you can even ask Kakashi, and if I was silent it's because he threatened to knock me out if I tried anything."

Sukasu turned to Kakashi. "Is this true?"

"Of course it is Kitten-chan, you shouldn't doubt your boyfriend you know; it's bad for your relationship."

Sukasu glared at him. "I'm not doubting him," She argued. "It was just strange that's all. But since you say nothing happened, I'll assume nothing happened," Sukasu said standing up and heading for the kitchen. "We're having pork cutlets for dinner," she called over her shoulder. She missed the breath the two released after she'd left the room.

"You owe me one for that," Kakashi said.

"Oh please, "Neji scuffed, "like you haven't lied to her before. But fine, as long as it's not something perverse."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and glared at Neji.

Neji returned his glare with a smirk before exiting the room.

* * *

"Thanks, Kakashi," Sukasu called after the older ninja as he disappeared over the ridge covering the hideout.

Kakashi threw a quick wave over his shoulder before disappearing.

"Now," Sukasu said, turning to face Neji, "Do you want to tell me what really happened while I was gone?"

Neji gaze switched to Sukasu abruptly. "What?"

Sukasu crossed her arms, "Kakashi has been able to help cover for you exceptionally well, up till now. But he's not here anymore and I honestly don't believe that you two had an honest relaxing day, stuck in a rock. Kakashi, I know, would probably just have lazed away all day. But you've been stuck in one room for a month and then moved to another slightly bigger hole in the wall, and told to stay there all day. There's no way you'd actually listen to me."

"I don't understand you," Neji said leaning back against the rock face. "First, you call Kakashi here to make sure I don't leave this place. Then you tell me not to leave this place. All the while thinking I am going to leave no matter what. So what was the point of doing all that in the first place?"

Sukasu brushed past Neji saying, "You're switching the subject."

"Not really," Neji called following after her. "It's a valid question."

"I'm sure it is," Sukasu said, making for the unwashed dishes by the sink. "But, I asked my question first so answer my question, and then I'll answer yours."

Neji huffed in annoyance, joining her at the sink. "Fine, I did leave, but it was with good reason. There I answered your question, now answer mine."

"What was the reason?" Sukasu asked ignoring his last sentence.

Neji gave a short chuckle. "Uh uh, No, I'll answer that after you answer my question." He punctuated his sentence by dropping a used plate in the sink for Sukasu to wash.

Sukasu picked up said plate and rinsed it before placing it with the others. "I did call Kakashi here to keep an eye on you. It would have been preferable if he was able to keep you here but, I know him and I know you. So I figured it would be almost impossible. "So," she continued, "I thought it'd be best to call him here anyway because if you two did leave, at least there'd be someone I know and trust around if something bad happened. I mean it wouldn't be like you were out there by yourself and I had no idea where you were or what had happened, there'd be someone who knew and..." Sukasu trailed off looking down at the sink, weaving her head back and forth. "I don't know, I'm not making sense anymore. Don't worry about it, I answered your question right?"

Neji was quiet, studying her. "Yeah, you answered it and its okay I understood you perfectly," He said finally, going back to drying the dishes.

They were quiet for another moment, letting the clink of plates and bowls fill the air.

"I went to see the Hokage," Neji confessed.

Sukasu almost dropped the bowl she was washing. "What? Why?" She asked staring up at him.

Neji shifted so that his bangs covered his face blocking it from view. "I wanted to ask her for a favor."

"A favor?" Sukasu repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Neji replied, clearing his throat, "Among other things."

A second eyebrow shot up to meet the first. "Oh," Sukasu said, turning back to the sink to drain it. "And these other things you speak of, can they be shared?" She asked noticing Neji's rising discomfort. "Or would you rather wait till later?" She added.

"Later?" Neji replied, the word coming out as a question.

Sukasu nodded, "What about the favor then, would you like to share that?"

Neji's shoulder tensed then relaxed with her words. "I can talk to you about it. I'm not sure if you'll like it though."

"Try me."

"How do you feel about having guardian's right now?"

Sukasu cocked her head to the side, confused. "What does that have to do with the favor you asked for?"

"Just answer the question," Neji said tersely. "Please," he added in a much softer tone when Sukasu jerked back a developed an angry scowl at his words.

Sukasu crossed over to the table mulling over his question. "I wouldn't say I dislike it," She responded slowly. "But it is kind of annoying at times, why?"

"What about it do you find annoying?" Neji countered.

Sukasu brought her hand up resting her cheek in her palm. "I guess the fact that they're constantly changing, and if I get someone I don't like or someone who doesn't really want to do the job but was ordered to do it, it becomes a hassle. And then there's the fact that I feel like I'm still being treated like a little kid and can't go anywhere without alerting them first. Not that I do it anyway but," Sukasu began rambling, Neji wasn't even sure she was speaking to him anymore. "Then there are all the times I have to cut something short just because I know they're coming to check up on me. You miss out on a lot of fun stuff that way you know. But it's not like I particularly dislike the company, I mean it is someone to talk to when you're not allowed to do much else, but that all goes to shit if it's someone I don't get along with. And then there's the fact that I have you now and Naruto and Hinata and they are being more lenient with letting me go out on my own recently but I think that was just because of..."

"Okay I get it," Neji cut her off, "So back to my original question. Do you like it?"

Sukasu looked over at him. "Now that I think about it some more, not really. I mean it's...I've had to deal with it for most of my life so I guess it just became routine but no, not really, no I don't like it. Does this have anything to do with the favor you asked?"

"Yes," Neji responded. "Because, I asked if we could get rid of it."

Sukasu turned to face him her hand gripping the back of the chair. "You what?"

"I asked if we could get rid of it," Neji repeated.

"Why would you do that?" Sukasu questioned confused. "It's not like it was really something that..." something clicked and she trailed off standing up. "You don't like it," She started coming towards him.

"Yeah, and?" Neji asked, shifting his weight to his other foot.

"But the question is why?" Sukasu muttered to herself tilting her head to study him, as she stalked closer.

"The selection for my guardian is random, but because the ratio of males to females is higher. My guardian usually tends to be male. Right now it's Shikamaru but that should be changing within the next few weeks." Sukasu stared at Neji, her violet orbs intense and calculating.

Neji looked away.

Sukasu moved so that she was standing almost directly in front of him, forcing him to look at her "It shouldn't really matter, but I think it does," she said softly, sliding an arm around his neck. "My dearest Neji, are you jealous?" Sukasu inquired a playful tilt to her words.

"Not really," Neji replied, turning his head to look at her directly with a sly grin. "You're a little off on that one."

"I don't think I'm that off," Sukasu countered sliding closer, "But if that's not the reason, then what is?" She asked.

Neji wrapped an arm around her waist, to hold her steady. "I don't like it," He stated plainly.

"I got that part," Sukasu said with a smirk. "I was asking about the rest."

Neji's face became serious, and his hold tightened. "Because to me it felt like they were mocking you. I mean you spent the first part of your life locked up, on constant watch. And after you get out they do the same thing, just giving you a little more space to make you think it's different. They had good intentions, I guess, and maybe as a child it could have been explainable. But not now, I don't like it because I don't like seeing you trapped. Once was enough for you, I don't think it needs to happen again."

Sukasu who has stiffened in surprise at the beginning of his explanation now relaxed and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you," she whispered. "That was actually a better reason than being jealous."

"I never said I wasn't jealous either, it just didn't have as big an impact on me as the other reason did," Neji admitted, smiling down at her.

"Hn," Sukasu made a playful sound in the back of her throat. "Well, having both reasons just makes it that much better," She murmured tilting her face up, and bringing herself closer.

"I'm sure it does," Neji murmured back bridging the gap between them.

Their lips met in a slow passionate kiss. Melding and molding together before parting for a brief moment only to meet again with searing intensity.

Tongues whipped around each other, as hands travelled over shoulders and down waists. Fabric was clenched between fingers and heavy pants and soft moans filled the rapidly shrinking space between their bodies.

"Mmhhn," Sukasu threw her head back, biting her lip as Neji moved from her lips to her neck, kissing and suckling the warm flesh.

"Ah," she cried out, her fingers constricting around his biceps when he reached her collarbone and bit down.

Snaking his other arm around her waist he secured her to him before whirling her around and hoisting her up on the counter.

Lips met again in a clash of teeth and tongue as Sukasu wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands resting on his shoulders.

Neji removed his hands from her waist only to grab the hem of her top, lifting it up to slide his hands underneath the cotton fabric.

Sukasu bit back a squeal as his hands kneaded and pulled at the skin underneath. Not to be outdone, Sukasu moved her hands to tug at his shirt tail, leaning back to give her enough room to yank it over his head.

Her hands travelled downward and she entered into her favorite past time of tracing his scars.

Neji's chest rumbled as he groaned at her touch. Soft fingers trailed over his arms and around his stomach to his back. Trailing down his sides increasing in pressure every time he found a new spot to nibble on.

Ceasing the constant kneading motions upon her waist his hands proceeded up her back unclasping her bra and dragging it out from under her shirt.

Sukasu mewled with pleasure when his hand gripped her unbound breast, and heat prickled over her skin causing the soft shirt to feel unnaturally rough against her abdomen.

She fidgeted, torn between breaking away from Neji to tear off her shirt, or allowing him to continue his ministrations.

Allowing him to continue won out against her other needs when Neji's other hand came up to join the first. Palming each breasts he rotated both while coming up to occupy her mouth with his own.

"Mmnnn" Sukasu arched her back, trying to increase the pressure against his hands. The motion caused the apex of her thigh to brush against the growing bump at the front of his pants.

Neji let out a groan as he rocked back into her. Sukasu felt her panties grow wet from the increased friction his clothed manhood provided against her folds.

Another jolt of heat was sent racing up her spine as he ground into her a second time, harder. The action caused something to nag at the back of her mind but her attention was soon redirected elsewhere.

Neji's hands left her breast, and her shirt was pulled over her head to land somewhere beside his on the counter. Sukasu pouted in displeasure when his hands didn't immediately return to their place on her chest. But her feelings were alleviated when they were replaced with his mouth instead. Sukasu let out a soft moan.

His tongue laved around her breast and over her areola, leaving cool trails in its wake. He tugged at her pert nipple with his teeth playing with it a little before sucking it into his mouth.

Meanwhile his hands slid down her torso, to her legs unhooking them from his waist. Steadying her with one hand he brought the other up to the edge of her skirt, fingers trailing along the edge of her waistband. Toying with the elastic he curled his fingers around the edge of both her skirt and panties yanking them down in one swift motion.

Kicking the unwanted fabric off, Sukasu quickly wrapped her legs back around him while simultaneously nudging him to give her other, neglected breast some much needed attention. The feeling of having forgotten something still nagging at the back of her mind.

Neji obliged her quickly, switching from one to the other, his tongue making swirling patterns across her skin. Careful not to leave the other mound of flesh as neglected as the first he lifted a hand to play with it. Sukasu let out another moan, this one louder than the first. Neji thrust his clothed bulge forward in response to the sound.

The feel of his tongue coupled with the feel of the rough material against her now exposed pussy caused an intense fire to rack over her entire body. Sukasu's hands gripped his shoulders from the onslaught of pleasure.

Heat pooled in her belly, as she responded to his lust filled motions trying to ignore the nagging feeling she had by grinding back into him. Neji groaned lifting his head from her chest to rest it against her neck. Hot, open mouthed pants escaping from his lips.

"God, I want to take you," Neji rasped pressing against her, his voice heavy with need, "Especially since our last time got cut a little short," He added with a kiss to her collarbone.

His words brought that nagging thought to the surface cutting through the thick haze that had begun to cloud the surface of her mind. "Oh," she gasped suddenly, pushing him away.

Neji drew back puzzled. "What? Why'd we stop? Is something wrong?"

Sukasu shook her head, trying to dispel the last of the fog from her thoughts. "No, that's not it," she said, trying to reassure him. "I just forgot something."

"You...forgot something," he repeated, slightly miffed that she would push him away just for having forgotten something. "You forgot something, and it was so important that you had to stop us in the middle of...?" Neji paused when he heard her giggle.

"Well it be more accurate to say I remembered something," Sukasu rephrased amidst another tiny giggle, sliding off the counter.

Neji was becoming increasingly annoyed, "Well?" He asked when she didn't elaborate further.

Sukasu turned to him pressing him up against the counter top. "I just remembered I forgot to pay you back."

"And you want to do that now?" Neji asked, irritated.

Sukasu palmed the bulge that was still present at the front of his trousers. "Yes," she responded leaning into him with a coy smile, fingers playing with the metal zipper

"Oh," Neji replied as understanding dawned on him and his irritated frown was replaced with a smirk.

"Well then," Sukasu whispered sliding down to her knees. "I suppose I'll get started." 

A/N: So ya'll hate me yet? I know it's probably the worst place to leave a cliff-hanger or whatever this is but I had already reached 24 pages and I wasn't about that life...Sorry, kinda anyway same spiel as always Thank You! and Please Review! we'll continue this next chapter...Maybe, hahahahahahaha


	24. The Chapter That Should Have Been

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So for those of you who haven't left me yet I have decided to title this chapter **The Chapter That Should Have Been Updated a Long Time Ago, But Wasn't**, fitting name right? yeah I thought so too. Anyways after last chapter I'm sure you already know but just to give fair warning so no one said I didn't this chapter contains... That's right a big fat juicy pear! no but seriously **LEMON AHEAD!** there that is my fair warning, Enjoy!

Shout Outs: THANK YOU! to those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed thus far! Thanks to... **Misora Asuka, ****and ****cathyscloud9 **for reviewing, **beautifulrainwalker, Exoa, otakufairy, and Misora Asuka **for following, **loverofanime41302, BriarBaneRose, Lucky Girl 81** for favorite-ting, and to **zirahart, bnoell14, and el12 **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!

**cathyscloud9**: I'm always happy to update, even if I don't do it as regularly as I want.

**Misora Asuka**: I know right! that's why I decided to write my own, and well, you see how that's turning out.

ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**The Chapter That Should Have Been Updated a Long Time Ago, But Wasn't (****Chapter 24)**

Neji watched, a smirk still playing across his lips, as Sukasu slid down the floor pulling the metal zipper along with her.

With one hand resting on his thigh to keep herself grounded, she used the other to tug his underwear down, releasing his throbbing erection from its confines. Sukasu hesitated, her lips parting slightly, indecisive as to where/how to begin

Taking her hesitation for nervousness Neji spoke up. "You don't have to do this you know," Neji said, a frown threatening to replace his smirk. "You can always make it up to me with something else."

"Hm," Sukasu hummed against the back of her throat. "To bad, I want to. Besides, I choose how I want to make it up to you."

"Oh?" He asked, "You do? Isn't it supposed to be the other way aro-"

A quick lick to the tip of his cock shut him up instantly and he watched in lustful fascination as Sukasu began pleasuring his dick.

Sukasu began slowly swirling her tongue around the tip and trailing it down to the base, dragging it back up again to close her mouth over the head.

Neji groaned and his breathing becoming more erratic when she pulled him in to her warm cavity. He struggled to keep from shoving his manhood down her throat as she continued her ministrations, bring her hand up to add more friction.

His efforts to keep from choking her; however, were in vain as Sukasu did it for him, deep throating him once.

"Oh shit," Neji gasped, his hand coming down to rest on the back of her head. He could feel Sukasu grin against his cock before coming up and doing it again.

"You're...enjoying...this...aren't you?" Neji asked through gritted teeth.

Sukasu closed her eyes and hummed, whether in agreement or amusement, Neji couldn't care less. He was too lost in the feel of her throat constricting around him.

"Fuck," he groaned, when Sukasu noticing his reaction bobbed her head down to repeat the action, her hand massaging his balls.

She came back up letting her teeth scrape lightly against his throbbing member.

"Fuck. Shit, Sukasu if you keep doing that I'm gonna…"

Sukasu pulled back, lifting her head releasing his member with a small pop.

Her hand continued to slowly massage him providing just enough friction to keep him built up but not enough to send him over the edge.

Neji confused, looked down at Sukasu's flushed face to see the playful light behind her eyes.

"Oh, now you're just teasing," he accused, a little bitter.

Sukasu chuckled, continuing to rotate her hand up and down, "I can't let you have all the fun can I?"

"Weren't you the one having fun?"

"That's not what I heard," Sukasu murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

"Wha-"

Sukasu dove forward closing her mouth and bobbing her head along his shaft. It was enough to give Neji the edge he needed.

His hips jerked and Sukasu felt him tense in her mouth. His hand tightened around the back of her head, pulling her closer, as he released his hot seed down the back of her throat.

Sukasu swallowed everything before pulling away, sitting back on her heels. She felt Neji's hand loosen against her hair and she tilted her head back to stare up at him.

Neji was silent as he watched Sukasu, trying to get his breathing under control before he spoke. "That," he said, pausing to find the right words, "was amazing."

Sukasu tilted her head a coy smile gracing her features, "Really?" She asked, slowly coming to up to standing only to press herself lightly against him. Neji's arms automatically came to rest on her waist. "That's good then, I wouldn't want to have my efforts leaving you unsatisfied."

"But," she continued, her tongue darting out quickly to re-wet her lips, "I hope that doesn't mean we're finished here?"

Neji's grip on her waist tightened and a feral light entered his eye. "After that?" He asked, tilting her head up to give her a kiss that left them both breathless and wanting for more.

He moved his lips to her ear, "Oh no," he whispered, "I won't be done with you for a long time," he said, punctuating his statement with a quick nip to her ear.

A faint shiver ran down Sukasu's spine and her body tingled in anticipation of what was to come, despite that she couldn't help but tease him a little. "Well better hop to it then, or else I might fall asleep."

Neji gave a low snarl at her comment and lifted her in the air. Sukasu squealed, instantly locking her ankles around his waist and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Just for that, I'm not letting you sleep at all," he growled before smashing his lips against hers and bringing their tongues to battle in the heat of passion.

Sukasu whimpered when he broke away and began planting hot searing kisses down her jaw, her neck, her shoulder.

She brought her hands to tangle in his hair, guiding his face back up to meet hers, as she rocked herself against him. She didn't know how but at some point they had ended up against the wall, the cool hard surface in stark contrast to her overheated skin.

Neji broke away from her once more, attacking her throat and collarbone relentlessly with nips and kisses. Teasing her with quick bites to her lower lip.

On one of his return treks Sukasu caught him bringing her hands around to cup his face pulling him back towards her.

They continued to tease rubbing their bodies together giving the other quick heated kisses, only to dart away and appear somewhere else.

Only at the others insistence would they bring their lips together coaxing their tongues to dance around each other in a pattern only they knew.

They ground their hips against each other in a desperate attempt to gain friction. Sukasu moaned against his lips when his erection rubbed over her soaked entrance as she tried to position herself on top of him.

Neji chuckled softly at her antics sliding one hand down to her ass, giving it a quick squeeze. "Impatient are we?"

Sukasu didn't even try to deny it. She was slowly getting tired of playing games; her only response was another small whimper as she wiggled her hips above him.

Neji grinned, giving a light pinch to her buttocks signaling her to remain still, before he drove right into her pulling out to the tip and slamming back in again setting a steady pace.

Sukasu's head, fell forward cheeks flushed, her mouth open in a silent gasp, as he entered, her filling her. Every thrust seemed to hit deeper than the last.

This position was new to her so it didn't take long for her to feel an intense heat envelop her body, she felt as if she was on fire. Her gasps and moans were no longer silent as she rocked her hips into him, adding more friction, as he increased the pace.

Neji brought one hand between them, fingers roughly massaging and toying with her clit adding to the pressure. His head fell forward to resume his earlier actions of kissing anywhere his lips could reach. Sukasu's hands fell to his shoulders allowing him more access to her neck as he placed quick kisses along her collarbone.

He continued to manipulate her clit, one hand gripping her hip as he continued pounding into her sex with vigor.

"Oh god," she cried, her fingers clawing into his shoulders. She had half a mind to feel bad about the marks she was most definitely leaving in his shoulders, but the thought was soon lost in the almost painful feelings of bliss entering her body.

A pleasure filled scream escaped her throat when he hit her sweet spot, a continuous array of high pitched moans following suit.

Neji lifted his head, swallowing her moans effortlessly, as he kissed her with a searing intensity.

Another series of moans fell from her lips after a particularly hard thrust caused another series of intense heat waves to flood her body.

Had she been soaked before, she was drenched now, her fluids running down her legs as the wet sounds of their intense coupling continued until a painful tightening in her lower abdomen alerted her that the end was near and judging by his harsh gasps and erratic pacing, he was as well.

Her ankles locked against him, tighter, bringing him deeper into her, as she desperately tried to increase the pace to aid her impending release.

Neji felt her weight shift, his hands moving to her waist to help her along, forcefully shoving her hips downward. Right onto her G spot.

Sukasu cried out, head pounding, heart thrumming in her chest. She threw her head back, vision going black around the edges, as her body clenched around him.

Neji gazed at her caught in the thralls of orgasm, pounding into her a few more times before releasing.

Sukasu relaxed falling forward against her boyfriend, as her orgasm gradually disappeared; her walls still spasming around his cock.

Their harsh breathing was the only thing that filled the air as they both came down from their high.

Bodies still invariably pressed together, Sukasu tucked her damp forehead into Neji's shoulder. As their breathing slowed to a regular pace he began laying soft kisses along her arms. Sukasu turned her head to watch him through her bangs.

Neji felt her eyes on him and lifted his head to give her a soft smile, one that belied the roguish light in his eyes. "So," he asked, "Ready for round two?"

Sukasu eyes widened a fraction, suddenly becoming very conscious of the very hard member still resting inside her. "Oh god," she whimpered, the words out her mouth before she even realized it.

Neji laughed as he pulled out and rocketed back into her, tilting his head up to whisper against her lips, "Maybe later we'll actually get to the bed."

Sukasu whimpered again, head still buried in his neck.

* * *

A cool draft brushed over Sukasu's exposed back and she groaned, rolling over to snuggle deeper into the warmth the bed provided her.

"Sorry," a soft voice from above her whispered, "Did I wake you?"

Sukasu shook her head murmuring something unintelligible into the voices' chest.

"Hn, guess that's a no," Neji commented, resuming his earlier act of running his hand through her hair before his elbow accidentally knocked a pillow off the bed leading to where they were currently.

Sukasu arched, stretching into his hand like a cat, still half-asleep.

Neji chuckled, the sound causing small vibrations to run through his chest which in turn transferred to Sukasu's face, which was currently pressed up against him.

"Mmph," Sukasu lifted her head away from him, eyelids fluttering, as she fought off the last vestiges of sleep.

"Good morning, or afternoon, or whichever," Neji greeted.

Sukasu felt a smile tug on the corners of her lips as she brought a hand up to run through her bangs, pushing them away from her face.

"Hi," she replied. Sitting up and stretching her arms over her head, feeling the muscles in her back scream in protest.

She winced, and twisted around to face her boyfriend, "I'm sore," she pouted, eyes glaring at him pointedly.

Neji grinned ignoring her pointed look and bringing his arms to rest behind his head. "Well, looks like my job here is done then."

Sukasu swatted at him half-heartedly, "That's not funny," she said, a small smile replacing her pout. "It hurts, that wall really messed up my back."

"Would you like a massage?" Neji asked, staring up at her.

Sukasu seemed to consider it for a moment. "No, that's okay, I'll survive," she finally responded.

Neji shrugged, "Suit yourself, I'm open for a massage anytime."

Sukasu rolled her eyes, turning away from him, "Thanks," she replied.

Neji made a noncommittal noise then switched the subject. "So, besides possible massages, do you have any plans for the day?"

"Depends on how much of the day is left," Sukasu murmured, then speaking louder asked, "No, why?"

Her question was met with silence.

"Neji?" she asked turning confused. Neji didn't seem to be paying attention to her; he wasn't even looking at her. He seemed to be contemplating something, but she didn't know what. "Neji," she called again reaching over to wave a hand in front of his face.

He blinked his eyes coming to focus on her, "Hm?"

Sukasu sat back with a sigh, "You just asked me a question and now you're not even paying attention when I answer."

She stood from the bed kicking the sheets off as she went, "I said I didn't really have any plans," she repeated, "and I was wondering why you were asking but, since you seem to be lost in Lala land, I guess I'll go take a shower," she muttered, annoyed.

A hand came up to cover his face. "God this is going to be harder than I thought," Neji mumbled to himself, watching Sukasu enter the bathroom through the cracks of his fingers.

* * *

(Two weeks later)

"So, remind me again why we're going to see the Hokage?" Sukasu called into the hallway from her room.

"Because there's something I need to talk to you about," Neji called back from where he stood waiting.

"And you can't talk to me about it now?" She asked the irritation evident in her tone.

"No," Neji responded

"And you can't even give me an inkling of an idea of what it is you want to talk about?" She prodded.

"No."

Sukasu exhaled and rubbed her forehead, trying to release the tension that was building up inside her. They had returned to the village over a week ago and Neji had been acting strange ever since. Acting like he wanted to say something but then not or spacing out at random times. She was starting to wonder if he was sick. But then she thought he could have been acting that way even before they returned, but she couldn't be bothered to remember. Not with the headache she had been sporting all morning, or the cramps that were telltale signs that hell on earth was about to begin.

Sukasu sighed again, emerging from the bedroom for the fourth time with her third change of clothes.

She really hated going to the Hokage tower. She didn't even know why she bothered to worry so much about what she looked like anyway. Half the people who walked around there were a little more than worse for wear. So, she didn't know why, after Neji had mentioned going up there at breakfast she had immediately gone back to their room to change, this was the third outfit already.

Neji eyed her up and down before commenting. He had learned the hard way that just saying 'nice' wasn't going to cut it and it would only result in Sukasu turning right back around to change again, so he settled on a simple, "You look beautiful."

"Really?" She asked, fiddling with a piece of loose hair looking down at herself. A light smattering of pink appeared across her cheeks at his compliment. It was just a simple outfit, a pair of knee length capris with slits crisscrossing down the sides and a shirt that was maybe a little low cut, but it's not like that really mattered. She had finally decided on this outfit because she liked the way it accented her figure, she raised her head to gaze back at Neji.

"Always," he answered, with a smile, before he pushed away from the wall grabbing her hand and pulling her forward, "Now come on, let's go. This might take a while."

Sukasu still a little flustered, stumbled, letting him pull her, "Wait, what? What do you mean this might take a while?" she asked, to his back.

"Just that…" Neji paused turning back to her "...you'll see when we get there."

Sukasu sighed _well that was vague,_ she thought, _just like all his other answers._ Knowing she wouldn't be getting many clear answers from him anytime soon, she resigned herself to being led along the streets of Konoha towards whatever awaited her at the Hokage tower.

Tsunade looked up as the door to her office opened, revealing a very determined Neji with a very sullen Sukasu behind him.

Tsunade took one look at both their faces, and got all the information she needed.

"You didn't tell her anything before you got here did you?" The Hokage asked, setting down the papers she had been trying to read (ignore) all morning.

"I thought it best to restrict damage to only one area of the city," Neji replied.

Sukasu's head shot up and she glared at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not that I don't agree with your decision," Tsunade said, "But I'd rather not have the damage done in such a populated area as this."

Neji bowed his head, "Point taken," he conceded before turning to the still fuming Sukasu, "I brought you here because as you already know, two weeks ago I came to have a chat with Lady Tsunade, and I was told some things I think you should know." Neji paused when Sukasu flopped down on the floor, crossing her legs.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Anyway," Neji continued, "I couldn't tell you what those things were unless we were both in front of the Hokage."

Sukasu tilted her head up to look at him, eyes narrowed, "That's not the greatest way to start a topic," she stated slowly, "It makes me think this is something bad."

She turned her attention to the Hokage "Is it?" she asked sharply.

"That depends on how you look at it," Tsunade answered shortly, her hazel orbs seeming to scrutinize Sukasu's every move. Waving a hand in Neji's direction she continued "Let him explain."

Sukasu huffed dropping her head only to peek back up at Neji, "Sorry," she apologized, "Explain this to me. Please," she added.

Neji nodded, silently accepting her apology before continuing, "Well this kind of all starts with a legend."

Sukasu stared up at him blankly.

Neji cleared his throat, "The Legend goes something along the lines of, after the blood of the first of your clan became more diluted through time those who were able to use the Flower Style would have less power,"

Neji paused looking down to see Sukasu's reaction only to see her eyes were closed, he looked to the Hokage for some sort of guidance. She nodded her head signaling him to continue.

"Well every once in a generation there would be a child born into the Hana that could use the full power of their ancestors, and since you are the first child born into the Hana that could use the Flower Style in a Hundred years we believe,"

"You believe that I inherited this so called power," Sukasu finished for him.

Neji glanced down at her noticing her eyes were still closed, "Yes, but that's not everything."

Sukasu cracked an eye open at that, her gaze flickering from him to the Hokage before she closed it again nodding her head.

Neji took that as his cue to continue, "The thing that's different about your case is that judging by previous research these so called reincarnations only inherited a certain percent of the First Ancestor's true power."

Sukasu's eye twitched but she didn't open it, "They didn't inherit all of it?" she asked.

Neji shook his head but then realizing she couldn't see him replied, "No, they didn't"

"Then how is that any different than the rest of the people in that generation?"

"I…" Neji started at a loss for words, he glanced towards the Hokage.

Tsunade answered for him, "Because all the rest in that generation only inherited the power in their own being. Whatever little bit of the power their parents carried, dormant or otherwise, was what was transferred to them. The reincarnations however had whatever they received at birth plus whatever power the First Ancestor held. Making them significantly stronger than the rest of those that inherited the style," she concluded. "In the beginning because they were the strongest in the clan they naturally became the heads; however, after…"

Sukasu lifted a hand interrupting her, "Don't worry I got it," she said sparing Tsunade the trouble of having to explain, she already knew. After those born with the ability to harness the Flower Style were seen as monsters within their own clan, naturally the strongest of those able to use the style was either killed off at birth or locked behind a multitude of bars for the rest of their life… her thoughts trailed off when she realized Neji was speaking again.

"The reason we wanted to tell you about this wasn't just because the Hokage and others believe you inherited the power but because they believe you've inherited the most of any member of your clan, ever."

Sukasu's eyes opened her violet eyes intense and calculating, "How much?" she asked.

"What?" Neji asked, he had been expecting the question but he wasn't prepared for her to ask it right then he would have thought she was still trying to process all of the information they had already given her.

"How much?" Sukasu repeated somewhat forcefully.

"About 75 percent," Neji answered, watching her carefully.

"75 percent," Sukasu repeated, "That's a lot," she said. Her eyes locked on the Hokage's figure behind her desk. "Is this the reason I have the seal?" she asked.

Not giving Tsunade a chance to answer she continued her thought, "I'd always wondered why I still had it. I was told it was there to seal my powers to prevent what happened at the compound from happening again. I had thought that after I had shown my ability to control myself it would have been removed. So I had always wondered why even after I had been properly trained and had learned to control my abilities...why was it that I still had the seal."

Sukasu's eyes locked with the Hokage's and a load of unspoken information passed between them.

"That's what I thought," Sukasu whispered finally breaking eye contact to look at Neji.

Neji's eyes flickered between them intrigued as to what could have passed between them that made him feel like he had missed an entire conversation.

"I get it, that seal isn't there to seal off _my_ power, it's there to seal off everything else. You all won't get rid of the seal, because you're afraid that if you do, I'll use my new found powers recklessly and end up destroying myself or others in the process." Sukasu said speaking to the Hokage despite not having looked at her once. Her voice was surprisingly level despite Neji's assumption that she should have been very well beyond pissed at this point.

"And you couldn't see fit to tell me something like this before now" Sukasu asked the anger finally breaking through, as she turned her attention back to the Hokage, "Instead of me having to learn it only after my boyfriend comes to you asking about it?"

"Well in all honesty…" Tsunade started.

"Never mind forget it," Sukasu spoke through her, shaking her head, "I don't care what your reasons were, I know now and that's more than I probably would have ever known had I come to you myself with the same questions."

Sukasu lifted her head to glare at the Hokage, "I won't ask for the seal to be removed because I honestly don't know how I would handle all of the extra power at this point," Sukasu turned towards the door, "But I promise you, if I come here and ask for it to be removed, I don't care what your ill found reasons are regarding my well-being, it will be removed. Immediately," Sukasu snarled, stalking out the door and slamming it behind her.

Neji fought off the shiver that threatened to run up his back, "Well that went better than expected," he commented, hoping to the gods that he was right and Sukasu wouldn't suddenly start rampaging in the market district on their way home.

Lady Tsunade sighed dropping her head forward, "Yes it did," she agreed, "surprisingly."

"Well then," Neji said heading toward the door "I should go before someone ends up in the hospital," he said half-jokingly, "please excuse me."

"Neji", Tsunade called after him.

He turned feeling a small sense of deja vu, "Yes," he responded questioningly.

"No never mind," Tsunade said waving him off "Go look after your girlfriend I'm sure she's already started to throw things in the lobby."

Neji's lips quirked upwards at her comment, before he bowed exiting the room.

Despite all the talk of Sukasu going on a rampage and destroying everything in sight, there was a small part of Neji that feared she'd actually do it. So when he didn't see her waiting directly outside the Hokage's office he panicked a little, until he noticed her sitting on a bench a few ways off, with her head bowed towards her knees.

Neji approached her cautiously trying to pinpoint her mood. "Sukasu," he called, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked his eyes a mirror of concern when she finally looked up at him.

"I'm fine," she answered her voice faint but strong, "Although," she said sitting up straight throwing a hand over her eyes, "I could really go for that massage right about now."

Neji laughed quietly before grabbing her hand helping her stand, "Come on," he said quietly, "Let's go, this might take a while"

Sukasu smiled, silently appreciating his little joke, willingly letting him drag her along towards home.

A/N: So what did Tsunade want to tell Neji? who knows? I don't. I'm sorry for always doing this to you guys with my updates but at least I'm consistent with my inconsistencies, hahahaha sigh, anyway for whoever has stuck with me till now and for anyone who just started reading, I appreciate that you take the time to read this fic. As always thank you and please review!


	25. When S Starts to go Down

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: Not gonna lie I actually had this chapter sitting in my documents since August, no joke. I started writing it the day I uploaded the last chapter since I knew exactly where I was going in this story but the school started before I could add the finishing touches and upload it, so here it is 3 months later and I finally found the time to edit and upload Whoopee! you guys probably hate me right now, I know a few of my friends do, but any way here it is Chapter 25, finally. I hope you enjoy it...

Shout Outs: I don't know how many of you are still reading this but anyway THANK YOU! to those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed thus far! Thanks to... **Misora Asuka, ****and ****cathyscloud9 **for reviewing, **Lady Selphie-chan, whtevritis2, Anileath, and caseylu **for following, **Tavialover14, kitcolbana, agoodebailey, Smudgster, sick-health, beautifulrainwalker, KhaleesiOfKiwis, MuiL0VR** for favorite-ting, and to **lillytheeevee, Artemis Star, lune-de-blue, WingedButterfly, Sanura Bey, mizzmuzz, and LosingSpark **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!...I apologize if i spelled any of your names wrong it's like one o'clock in the morning where I am so, I can't type.

**cathyscloud9**: I'm still wondering what Sukasu will do now, Actually I'm not I just want to keep you in suspense but I promise it will be good, whenever I get around to updating, I know i'm not the most reliable but I haven't NOT updated yet, so I guess that's a perk.

**Misora Asuka**: I'm looking forward to more lemons too! and we'll see how she deals with her new found power although it might not be for a couple more chapters, I don't know we'll see how it plays out I tend to keep my chapters to twenty pages max so we'll see how far I get in the next chapter considering everything that happens in this one.

ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 25: When S*** Starts to go Down**

Tsunade held her hand up, regarding the swirling blue stone held between her fingers with a critical eye.

"So, they've finished analyzing it," she asked Shizune, setting the stone down on the desk beside her.

Shizune bowed her head, "Yes, My Lady"

"And?" Tsunade inquired steepling her fingers.

"Well," Shizune continued, "According to our research, the stone does have some significance in regards to the army currently being amassed in Ushinatta. We found that there is some sort of ninjutsu layer inside that allows the holder to communicate via the stone to anyone else holding a similar object.

"Really?" Tsunade mused to herself, her eyes sliding to the stone once more, "and you believe this is how the army is communicating amongst themselves without our knowledge?"

"Yes," Shizune responded, "We also believe it's how they were able to assemble so quickly when Sukasu-san was caught investigating them."

"Which makes me question why, if they are able to communicate so quickly, was there no backlash on the village immediately after they figured out where she was from?" Tsunade murmured.

"Maybe, they never got the chance to contact their leader." Shizune suggested.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade inquired, her eyes boring into Shizune's own.

"Um, well despite my description the ninjutsu in the stone is actually quite complex…" Shizune trailed off, fumbling around for the right words to explain her next thought. "it seems that there is actually a...command stone...if you will, that can communicate to any target it wishes that holds a stone, but in the reverse only certain stones are able to contact this central stone."

"We've assumed up till now that the people who held those types of stones were the leaders of their respective groups...since according to Sukasu the forbidden jutsu army does seem to have inlaid ranks, and that the rest of the of the army was given 'standard' stones to communicate amongst themselves."

Tsunade listened intently through Shizune's explanation, piecing thing together, already forming a plan in her head.

"Shizune" Tsunade called when she finally put everything together.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Sukasu said in her report that despite the army having ranks the lower ranks seemed unable to think for themselves and relied on their leader's instructions, in other words they were nothing more than mindless killing machines, yes?"

"Yes" Shizune confirmed.

"And the leaders only seemed to be able to hold them together with the help of their master, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am" Shizune confirmed again.

"Which means that there's inner strife within the army already," Tsunade nodded to herself, "then it's decided, we'll send a team out to retrieve this command stone from the mastermind behind these armies and dispose of him. Hopefully, if everything goes to plan the army will start to destroy itself from the inside and we can keep our death count to a minimum."

"Ma'am" Shizune said, a little startled.

"Is there something wrong?" Tsunade asked her eyes lifting to meet Shizune's face.

"Well, forgive my asking but this seems kind of sudden and I was just wondering what we should do if it doesn't go according to plan?"

Tsunade regarded Shizune for a moment, considering her question, after a while she sighed and gave her answer "the plan is to first and foremost retrieve the command stone, if the mission is compromised after that, my men are to retreat to safety and assess the situation. The rest is up to the team captain to decided," Tsunade concluded.

"Right" Shizune said in salute.

Tsunade waved a hand towards her in dismissal, "that's all for now, Shizune thank you."

Shizune bowed to her turning to head out the door, "if you don't mind my asking," she inquired after a moment of silence "who are you planning to send on this mission?"

Tsunade glanced back at the papers that were quickly forming a mountain on her desk, "I haven't decided yet," she murmured quietly.

Shizune bowed again, exiting the room.

* * *

A week later:

Sukasu let out a sigh as she slid into the warm water of the hot spring.

It was Thursday, and Neji had received a mission that would cause him to be gone for the rest of the week. He would be back Sunday at the latest, Saturday at best. So Sukasu had decided to take the sudden alone time to just enjoy herself and relax

"Are you okay?" Two concerned lavender eyes leveled her with a stare. "You've been sighing a lot lately."

_And there goes my relaxation,_ Sukasu turned her head to regard Hinata with tired eyes, "I'm fine I've just been extremely tired lately," she responded.

"Oh," Hinata replied softly, "is something keeping you up at night?" she asked. The question wasn't a jab at Sukasu by any means, Hinata was just genuinely concerned for her friend's well-being.

Sukasu craned her neck back to look up towards the ceiling, and sighed. "Lots of things have been keeping me up recently. I've been bombarded with so much new information over the past few weeks and I guess I've just been trying to process it all. So many things have been going on lately and I just...I feel like everything's moving so fast and I'm scared to see where it leads."

Hinata nodded her head in understanding. "I understand, things have begun to change." Hinata wrapped her arms around herself, drawing her knees up to her chest. "But that's not such a bad thing is it, I mean, change...can be good, right?"

Sukasu sat up straight, "I suppose," she replied, stretching her arms out in front of her. She felt a familiar cramping sensation in her stomach and brought her arms back to rub her hand over her stomach.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hinata asked after a few moments of silence.

"Hm," Sukasu tilted her head in her direction.

"What's been bothering you, keeping you up at night, I mean," Hinata clarified. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sukasu moved her head back to its original position, exhaling through her nose. "That's a lot of things to talk about," she answered without really answering the question.

Hinata shrugged, "I'm all ears," she said, "Besides I'm here all night," she added quietly.

Sukasu's lips quirked up into a half smile at Hinata's comment as she lifted a hand from the water, watching the water trickle off her fingertips and return to its brethren below. "Where to begin?" She murmured.

"Start anywhere you'd like," Hinata prompted.

Sukasu sighed again, sinking lower into the water. "I have a twin sister," she said eying Hinata to gauge her reaction.

Hinata simply nodded, looking down at the water, letting the information process.

"I didn't know," Sukasu explained further.

"Oh," Hinata said, "oh," she said again, looking up.

Sukasu remained silent, not returning her gaze.

"I see," she continued, her eyes uncertain. "And is she…"

Sukasu shook her head answering the question Hinata so desperately wanted to ask but didn't know how, "No, she's not alive any more. She died the same day the rest of my clan did."

Hinata cast a sympathetic look her way, "I'm sorry," she said. She didn't know what else to say, there was nothing else she could say.

"I'm sorry too," Sukasu responded, "She died that day and I couldn't save her, I didn't even know…" she trailed off.

Hinata was confused by her response, "But wait, didn't she die because," Hinata paused, realizing that might not have been the best question to ask her friend.

Sukasu cast her tired eyes on her, "Hm, because what?" She asked, waiting for Hinata to finish her question.

"...because you killed her?" She finally asked, her voice quiet.

Sukasu's eyes widened as she realized what Hinata meant. "Oh, oh" she repeated, her shoulders sank. "Oh, no I never told you did I? About Noari?"

Hinata just shook her head, questioning. "Who's Noari?"

Sukasu eyes turned sad, "I would've thought Neji told you, didn't you say he told you about me?"

Hinata nodded, "He did."

"But he didn't mention Noari?"

"No, he didn't"

Sukasu forced her gaze away from Hinata, staring instead at the painted rock surrounding the edge of the hot spring. "Noari was my best friend when I was a child, before I destroyed the Hana." Sukasu turned her gaze back to Hinata, "Her family, my family, they beat her to death for knowing about me."

Hinata's eyes widened in horror.

"They made me watch," Sukasu continued, "I watched them beat her. I watched as she cried out for them to stop, I watched as they kicked her, punched her, and clubbed her over the head. I watched," she whispered, "I watched as she cried out to me, to them, to someone, anyone, to help her."

Hinata watched as Sukasu's eyes grew dark, her mind was in another place, and she wasn't looking at Hinata anymore. She was back in the courtyard of the main house of the Hana compound, back with people who no longer existed, people she herself had destroyed, and still she went on.

"She held up her arms to defend herself, never fighting back. Because she couldn't, she wouldn't, they were her family, her mother, her father, her brother, and she wouldn't fight back. It just wasn't in her nature to…she was so kind," Sukasu mused.

"I watched as they clubbed her over the head for the last time and she finally collapsed on the ground, giving up. I watched the light slowly leave her eyes as she finally lost consciousness," Sukasu seemed to come back to reality in that moment her eyes zeroing in on Hinata's face, "I watched my sister die, she whispered her voice hoarse cracking with the realization that the only friend she had, the only family she had known, was beaten to death in front of her.

It was realization she had come to many times in the past weeks, but it never failed to catch her off guard, she just couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it. The fact that she had had a family was never something she had thought about and now all of a sudden she had one. They were people she had known about and interacted with through stories, but had never had any real connection to, _who were they? Who were these people? _Sukasu asked herself.

Hinata's eyes were as big as saucers and she didn't realize she was crying until the tears dropped off her chin, hitting her chest before slowly sliding down in the water.

It was no wonder Sukasu was up at night, Hinata realized. Anyone who had learned of something like that, after the fact, after everything was said and done, it was no wonder she was up haunted by memories she thought she had long since forgotten. "I'm... I'm sorry," Hinata finally choked out through her tears, her hand reaching towards Sukasu in comfort, "I'm so so sorry," she repeated.

Sukasu took her hand giving it a little squeeze, "Thank you," she replied her voice soft.

They sat like that, in companionable silence, until Sukasu sensed that it was time for them to leave the bath. Giving Hinata's hand another squeeze she let go, slowly rising out of the water. Hinata followed her quietly, tears still streaming down her face as Sukasu offered her a towel.

Hinata sent her an appreciative smile as she accepted the towel, wiping off her face. "Have you," she asked, when she finally felt she had gotten herself under control. "Have you spoken to Neji about all this?"

Sukasu paused in her drying to give Hinata her full attention. "Not about everything," she answered truthfully, "Although there have been times," and here she cast her gaze down to the floor. "There have been times where he's caught me up at night," She admitted. What she didn't mention was all the times he had woken her from her nightmares. All the times she had cried in his arms. All the nights spent talking her through her fears. The countless nights he had spent lulling her back to sleep. No, she didn't mention those things, she didn't want to worry Hinata even more.

Hinata nodded satisfied in her response. Sukasu decided it was better if she got her mind off such a depressing topic and moved on to another one.

"That's not the only thing I've been thinking about though," Sukasu began.

Hinata looked up, expectantly

"I've also been thinking about our clans and how things seem to be going in a better direction," Sukasu looked off to the side. "There are still some loose ends that need trimming and I'm sure it won't be easy, but at least now…" Sukasu turned her eyes back to Hinata, "at least now, I think that I won't have to look over my shoulder as much. Things are looking up," she finished shrugging. _On the other hand there's this whole first ancestor, extreme power, seal thing I have to worry about, but we'll leave that for another time. She already knows the gist of it anyway,_ Sukasu thought watching her.

Hinata who had been listening intently in the beginning was now vigorously nodding her head in agreement with Sukasu's words.

Sukasu gave her a small smile before another cramp hit, and she winced. "Damn, now of all times?" She muttered placing a hand over her stomach and rubbing, trying to dispel her discomfort.

Hinata's eyes followed the movement noting her wince. "Are you okay?" She asked, moving closer.

Sukasu waved her off, "It's nothing, I'm fine, just a cramp it will go away in a moment."

Hinata took her word for it but still hovered around her friend unsure of what to do, "Do you want me to get you something?" She asked, "A hot water bottle, a pad, ibuprofen?"

Sukasu shook her head, straightening up with a bright smile. "No, I'm good see, it's gone I'm all better now." She patted her stomach for emphasis. "Besides a pad wouldn't do much for me anyway, I haven't gotten my period yet, although these cramps are getting annoying," Sukasu pouted.

Hinata's brow furrowed, "You haven't?" She asked, "Do you normally cramp before you get your period?"

Sukasu thought about it, then shook her head. "No, not really, but there's always time for new things, right?" She said brushing it off and making to leave the bathroom.

Hinata followed after her seemingly lost in thought. "Yeah," she replied, "But, Sukasu when we're you supposed to get your period?" She asked.

Sukasu paused, thinking, "Um, the ninth, I think," she replied turning back around, "Why?"

"The ninth…" Hinata repeated suddenly becoming flustered, "But today's the seventeenth," she said counting backwards in her head. "Sukasu, it's been over a week since you were supposed to get your period?" She asked slowly beginning to show her panic.

"Yeah," Sukasu dragged out.

"And when did you say you started cramping?" She asked.

"A few days, maybe a week ago, I don't know," Sukasu responded noticing Hinata's nervous jitters. "It's just late isn't it? I don't think it's all that unusual," she added, trying to calm her down.

Hinata just stared at her friend, _how could she be so casual about this, yeah it might just be a late period, but it wouldn't hurt to rule out all the possibilities._ "Uh," Hinata started nervously falling back into her old habit of stuttering. "T-this may seem like a w-weird question and I-I don't mean to pry but you and N-Neji nii-san h-have been u-using p-protection right?" Hinata managed to get out looking up at her with big doe eyes.

Sukasu went beat red at the question and became flustered, "What? I...Hinata?" She asked, stumbling over her words.

"Please, I j-just need to know," Hinata pleaded struggling to calm herself down. She knew it wasn't really her place to ask but she had to know, just to clear her mind, she regarded Sukasu curiously.

"What...I...um," Sukasu stopped to think and Hinata felt like a rock had been dropped in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh god," she felt the moan rise in her throat, "Sukasu...please…"

Sukasu looked flustered, like a child caught doing something wrong.

Hinata began to recite off the top of her head, "Cramps, late period, fatigue…" She marked off on her fingers, "Anything else I should know about?"

"Headaches?" Sukasu added unsure.

Hinata dropped her head in defeat.

Sukasu backed up holding her hands up in surrender, "But those can just be symptoms of a late period right? I mean it's not like…" she trailed off when Hinata looked up.

"Get dressed, we're going to the convenience store," she ordered.

Sukasu jumped, she had never seen Hinata like this before and it scared her. She nodded her head quickly, scampering off to go change her clothes.

It was a sight to see, Hinata dragging another person down the street instead of the other way around. Had it been any other time of day people would have stopped and stared. But seeing as it was already late into the evening, there weren't many people to be seen crowding the streets. Most had either turned in for the night or were already at their chosen destination, in fact the only reason Hinata had been at Sukasu's was house in the first place was because she had been invited over for a girls night.

So, it just so happened that they were alone on the street and it was just as well, Sukasu didn't think she could beat running into anyone at this hour. After Hinata's near breakdown in the bathroom, Sukasu was starting to wonder as well. Having brushed off all the signs due to everything that had been happening recently, pregnancy was the last thing on her mind. Yet here she was being dragged down the street on their way to find out if she was just that, pregnant.

Sukasu watched in awe as Hinata slammed the test and some money down on the counter without a hint of shyness to her. After paying, she took Sukasu's hand and dragged her to the bathroom at the back of the store.

Sukasu's eyes widened, "Now?" She asked turning to her in shock.

Hinata just pushed her inside and crossed her arms, "Now's as good a time as any," she said closing the door, "knock when you're done."

Sukasu stared at the door until the shock wore off. She was appalled that Hinata would do something like this, it was completely out of character for her. But then failing to notice and look over all possibilities was out of character for you to, Sukasu's inner voice added.

Sukasu sighed and lifted a hand to look at the test Hinata had dropped there earlier. _Well let's get this over with, shall we. _

Hinata heard the soft knock on the door and opened it softly slipping inside.

Sukasu was leaning up against the wall, arms crossed staring intently at the little test sitting on the counter.

"Watching a kettle," Hinata commented softly.

Sukasu tore her eyes away from the test and settled on Hinata's face.

"If it's positive, will you be mad?" She asked, the question had been running circles in her mind for a few minutes now.

Hinata shook her head. Sukasu seemed relieved. "But," she spoke lifting a finger.

Sukasu regarded her inquisitively

"If it's positive, you'll have to promise me you'll tell Neji."

Sukasu's eyes clouded over at the thought, "Will he be mad?" She asked softly.

Hinata shook her head, "I doubt it, but I don't really know what his reaction will be, you still have to tell him or he'll find out sooner or later."

Sukasu nodded but didn't respond.

Hinata sighed, waving a hand towards the test, "Go, take a look."

Sukasu nodded picking up the test and reading over the display, silently she handed the test to Hinata.

* * *

Neji stared into the fire, his eyes reflecting the bright light of the flames making them glow almost violet in the darkness.

"What's on your mind?" Tenten asked coming to sit next to him.

Neji tilted his head towards her "What makes you think I've got something on my mind?" she asked.

Tenten shrugged, "You've been oddly quiet for this whole trip, and you seem to get lost in your thoughts a lot." she answered.

Neji looked away from her, it was true he had been lost in thought ever since they had started this mission. A lot of it stemmed from the nightmare he had woken Sukasu out of before he left. He hadn't told her most of the details regarding his mission but what she had said still managed to unsettle him.

* * *

Flashback:

_Neji woke up, when he heard another cry escape Sukasu's lips. He had becoming increasingly used to being woken up in the middle of the night by her nightmares or the sound of her pacing up and down the hallway, no matter how quiet she tried to be._

_"Sukasu," he called out lifting an arm to shake her from her dream state, "Sukasu, love, wake up" Come on"_

_He continued to jostle her, trying to wake her up. Finally, he succeeded and a gasp left her as she sat up quickly wrapping her arms around herself and clutching her sides, till her knuckles turned white._

_Neji immediately brought his arms around her, laying a hand atop her head and stroking her hair, "Shh, it's okay, you're awake now," he repeated over and over again while he waited for her shaking to stop._

_When she managed to calm herself down Sukasu switched her position burying her head in Neji's shoulder._

_"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked._

_Sukasu shook her head, no._

_Neji nodded "okay," he said remaining silent, he knew she would speak up eventually, she usually did._

_"There was, "Sukasu started after another fifteen minutes, "I was stuck in a hallway, alone...it was really dark."_

_Neji shifted their positions so that her head was still on his shoulder but now she was sitting in his lap as she relayed her nightmare to him._

_"I was standing in something wet, I don't know how, but I knew it was blood, I don't know whose it was but it was there and I had this overwhelming urge to keep walking forward despite the hallway filling with all this blood."_

_"The further I went the more there was, until finally I walked into this big room, it seemed like it was some laboratory, but all the equipment was gone...instead it was just piles of bodies."_

_"I recognized most of them, they were all people I knew that had died or that I had killed on missions they were calling out to me...they're supposed to be dead, I know they're dead, they were dead in my dream but they were still calling out to me saying 'save me', 'you did this to me', murderer', 'how could you', 'I asked for mercy', 'spare me'"_

_"They kept calling out to me and before I knew it I was covered in their blood and I was drowning in it. I got dragged under and the next thing I knew I was standing out in the middle of a battlefield...or at least I think it was a battlefield, it could have been a village of some sort...but it didn't matter it was destroyed.. and somehow I knew that I was the one who destroyed it."_

_"I've never seen that place before, but it was somehow really familiar," she continued. Neji had moved from stroking her head to rubbing small circles in her back._

_"And?" He finally asked softly seeing how she went silent._

_"I had this overwhelming urge to kill, to destroy everything in my path, I was so angry and I couldn't figure out why. I don't know why I wanted to destroy everything, I meant the village was already destroyed, everyone was already dead but I wanted to keep going."_

_"Next thing I knew I was in pain, I felt like my body was being ripped to shreds from the inside out, then everything went dark and I woke up." Sukasu ended finally lifting her head to stare at Neji. "What did that mean?" she asked in a whisper "why did I want to kill everyone? Does this make me a monster?"_

_Neji sighed, still rubbing circles to soothe her, "I don't know exactly what it means," he answered her honestly "But, I don't think dreaming about this makes you a monster. I mean just look at how you reacted to it, you were obviously scared weren't you?" he asked, looking down at her._

_Sukasu nodded, "Yeah"_

_"Then, that means whatever you were doing in your dream was something you were against doing, and besides you haven't actually done it in real life, so I think that speaks for itself, you're not a monster" he concluded._

_"But," Sukasu looked up at him with haunted eyes, "I have destroyed villages before."_

_Neji sighed again, "That's bound to happen in this line of work," he murmured, "especially as high-ranking ninja, but when you were destroying these villages did you enjoy it?" he asked._

_"A part of me did, but a part of me didn't" Sukasu answered, shivering._

_Neji brought the covers up to cover her shoulders "Did you enjoy the fighting or the killing?"_

_Sukasu was silent as she thought "the fighting," she replied finally._

_Neji nodded, "Then it's normal, you enjoyed the thrill of having a strong opponent but you didn't enjoy the fact that you had to kill them. A monster would've enjoyed the killing just as much and maybe more than the fight, so I'll say it again you're not a monster." He reiterated, staring into her eyes so she could see the truth in them._

_Sukasu seemed to accept his argument, resting back against him as they laid back down. "But what about that village?" she asked while waiting for sleep to overtake her once more._

_"I don't know" Neji answered softly, "But don't worry about it so much, it was just a bad dream, and dreams don't always have to make sense." he said in earnest pulling her closer to his chest._

_"Okay" she murmured snuggling in deeper as she allowed him to pull her closer, before they both drifted back off to sleep._

* * *

"Neji?" Tenten called again

Neji shook his head returning from the memory "what?"

"Lost in thought again?" Tenten joked.

"Yeah, I guess,"

Tenten sighed, _I guess he has a lot on his mind, _she thought_ I'll leave that topic be for now_. "So," she said switching the subject. "How long do you think we'll be travelling with this group?" she said motioning with her head towards the traveling merchants they had banded together with. They were posing as a brother and sister travelling with a few friends to explore different villages in the fire country, and collect merchandise to resell in their hometown.

The merchants had taken them in without much complaint and they had travelling with them for the past two days.

Neji looked past her to the small camp the merchants had set up a few yards away from them. "If I've timed it correctly, the route they're taking should take us right outside the outskirts of the village by about dusk tomorrow." He whispered back to her wary of prying ears "From there we can break away from the rest and set up a perimeter to set our plan into motion."

Tenten made a noise in confirmation, "That sounds good, the caravan will probably be stopping around that time anyway. It would be easy to break way in the confusion of setting up camp."

"Exactly" Neji responded.

They were quiet for a while before Neji noticed something strange, "Hey," he called to Tenten softly.

Tenten looked up noting the caution in his voice.

"Isn't it strange, were not that far away from the caravan and yet I can barely hear them. Actually, I can't hear them at all."

Tenten went quiet, listening "You're right that is strange. It's not that late, I don't think they would be asleep at this time," she added.

Neji stood up, activating his Byakugan, "Something's not right"

"Yeah," Tenten agreed turning to their teammates "Hey guys, look alive something's going on and we're not sure what, yet"

The three other ninja immediately came to attention as Neji called to Tenten "This is bad I can't sense any chakra signatures from that part of the woods, which gives me three options they're either playing one serious game of hide and seek, they're all Sukasu's relatives or they're dead. And considering how crazy the first two options are I'd say it was the third."

"But, how could they all die in that short amount of time with all of us sitting right here?" Tenten questioned.

"One seriously well planned ambush, and if I'm correct in my assumption the ambushers could still be around."

"But if we couldn't detect them from this distance, who will we know where they are?" Tenten asked.

"I…" Neji started turning around, "TENTEN!" he shouted, reaching out a hand.

"Wha…" Tenten was about to ask why he had suddenly shouted at her when she felt it, the familiar feeling of cold hard metal pressing against her flesh, and then a burning in her side. "Shit" she cursed, jumping away from her previous spot towards Neji, as she turned to face her attacker.

A/N: Oh My God! OH My God! Oh My God!, I have no idea what you guys are thinking right now but I'm hoping it's something along those lines...maybe so yeah we've hit a turning point in the story we're almost to the top of the hill...yay! It's been over a year.. OH MY GOD did I forget to mentioned that?... I Don't remember if I Did but yeah, It's been over a year since I first updated so happy birthday to this fic...I know it's really late but...Look how much it's grown since then...anyway again for whoever has stuck with me till now and for anyone who just started reading, I appreciate that you take the time to read this fic. As always thank you and please review!


	26. Still Waiting for the Shyte to go Down

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did Neji wouldn't die, and Naruto and Hinata would be together already! I only own Haibisukasu. the rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

**Warning: this story is rated M for language and Lemons in later chapters. Do NOT read if you are going to feel offended. If you continue you are agreeing that I (the author) will not be held responsible for any offense taken.**

A/N: So, I finally finished! Yay! No not the fic silly the chapter! I've been working on this thing forever. Seriously just ask my friends they'll tell you about all my nagging. Yes, I nag my friends about my unfinished work. I know that's horrible but for some reason it's the only way I don't slack off. and your probably wondering how three months doesn't count as slacking off, whelp...I'm wondering the same thing. If it wasn't for the flashback in this chapter I probably would have had it up the two months ago, but as it stands this flashback was hell to write, when you read it you'll probably be wondering which part was hell, well I'm telling you now it was all of it. I'm not kidding, someone who knows me tell them I'm not kidding! No? Okay, never mind then, Authors ramble over...

Shout Outs: As always THANK YOU! to those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed thus far! Thanks to... **SophiasWorld****, Misora Asuka, lillytheeeveee, ****and ****cathyscloud9 **for reviewing, ** .Ice, sakura tsukiyomi lefey, KoreanMusicFan, Ninja cucumbers, and Universal Intelligence **for following, **Kasumi Isumi, and Ne Ne Papa Ne Ne Mama **for favorite-ting, and to **winx 81, and Riomi-senpai **for favorite-ting and following. THANK YOU!...I apologize if i spelled any of your names wrong it'scold and I still can't type.

**lillytheeeveee**: You Know, I never thought about that, that's actually a good idea I might add it in at some point, thank you.

**cathyscloud9**: Thank You!

**Misora Asuka**: I'm neither going to confirm nor deny your statement, I just hope you forgive me.

**SophiasWorld**: Where to begin? Well first, sorry for the missing punctuation in your name, for whatever reason wasn't letting me save it that way...Your name kept disappearing. Besides that, Thank you for being so excited about my fic, I enjoy it when others are just as excited as I am also I'm sorry I've confused you on the finer points of the Hana's abilities. PM me some time and I'll see if I can explain it better. I feel that trying to explain it here would just add on a whole other 10,000 words...did I mention that this chapter is 10,000 words long? Yeah, it's one of my longer chapters... hence, why it took so long. Also yes, this is my first fanfic I haven't written any others, as you can see from my bio Caged Flower is the only one there. I haven't deleted any so rest assured, although I do thank you for the praise about my writing though I personally believe I have a long way to go, before i reach a level I can be absolutely proud of. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter...

ONWARDS!

_Inner thoughts_

"Speech"

"_Flashback"_

**Chapter 26**

Sukasu nearly sprinted down the pristine white hallways that were trademark of the Konoha hospital, till she spotted a familiar figure.

"Tsunade-nee-san!" She called, at the top of her lungs, picking up her speed when she saw the woman stop.

Coming to a whirlwind stop in front of her, she asked the question that had been threatening to rip its way out of her body ever since the two elite ninja had showed up at her doorstep requesting her presence at the hospital.

"_What_, happened?" She stressed.

Tsunade gazed down at the shorter girl, her face a blank slate. "Come, walk with me," She said, turning back in the direction she had come from.

Sukasu stared at Tsunade's back as she followed her down the hallway. "I'm not going to like this am I?" She asked.

Tsunade's silence was the only answer she needed. Sukasu sighed, "This is about his mission, isn't it?" She asked.

"Would I have called you here if it wasn't?" Tsunade responded, finally.

This time Sukasu was the one to remain silent.

"They ran into some trouble, while trying to complete it."

_Obviously_, Sukasu thought her face twisting in annoyance. "What happened?" She reiterated.

Tsunade turned around, fixing her with a cold stare, obviously unhappy with her tone, "They were ambushed," she stated.

Sukasu stared up at the older woman, for half a beat everything was silent, then absolute fear overtook her entire person, her blood ran cold. _Oh god_, "Neji?" she asked.

She didn't wait for the Hokage to respond, before her thoughts got the best of her and she was off, running towards the emergency ICU.

She blew past the nurses' station, wondering for a moment if Tsunade would cover for her, before the thought was quickly replaced with images of more pressing matters.

Pushing past the shiny metal doors blocking the entrance, she flew into the waiting room. Her eyes frantically scanned the area, she had no idea where to look first, her instinct only took her as far as the entrance. She had no idea what happened, so she had no clue as to where he would actually be.

"Sukasu?" Her name rang out like a question, but the voice was familiar.

Sukasu turned around her eyes wide "Tenten?" She responded softly. She knew that Tenten was in the group assigned to Neji from what he had told her, so her presence was both comforting and terrifying.

"Yeah," Tenten responded, changing her stance.

"How are you?" Sukasu asked, kicking herself as the question slipped off her tongue. _She's in a hospital after her team got ambushed how well can you be? Idiot._

Tenten however didn't seemed to mind and offered her a small smile of appreciation. "Better than some," she responded truthfully.

Sukasu looked Tenten up and down. She was pretty beat up. There was a cut running down the length of her collarbone and there was a gash over her eye that had been bandaged. Her body was littered with bruises and there were a couple of scratches here and there. Her hand was wrapped up, and she seemed to be favoring one of her legs.

Sukasu didn't even want to think about what the damage had looked like before. She could tell that someone had already inspected her and done as much as they could before they had been called away to attend to people with worse injuries. Which, brought her back to Neji.

"And Neji?" she asked, dreading the response.

"Same as her," a voice said from behind.

Sukasu spun around looking up into his lavender eyes. "Neji, you're okay," she whispered, as the adrenaline left her body and she collapsed, her legs giving out.

Neji reached out an arm to catch her, steadying her body, though she didn't fail to notice the light grunt he gave at the effort.

When she managed to get back on her feet, she gave him a once over. He was just as bad as Tenten. Cuts and bruises littered his arms and neck, and he had bandages wrapped around his forehead. She noticed a particularly nasty gash that had been stitched up, running down his right forearm. _The one he just caught you with,_ the nagging voice in her head decided to add. Sukasu ignored it, continuing her observations.

His left arm was in a sling, probably a broken wrist, Sukasu thought having procured the injury several times herself, she knew what it looked like. She shifted her attention to his legs noting that he seemed to be standing fine and overall, he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. Though again, she didn't know what he had looked like when he first arrived. Right now he looked okay, tired and beat up, but okay. Sukasu sighed in relief, the last of her pent up anxiety leaving her system.

"You know, by calling me to the hospital and saying their team was ambushed you made me think the worst had happened," Sukasu began, focusing her attention on Tsunade, who had come through the door at the same time Neji had appeared beside her. "So why is it that two of them are standing here, surprisingly not dying?" She asked.

"Well, if you had let me finish, instead of jumping to conclusions you might have known that, neither of them were in any immediate danger of dying. That is not true; however, for the rest of their team," Tsunade answered, her tone flat.

Sukasu huffed, "You still could have gone about it in a better way than you did." Shaking her head she turned back to her boyfriend. "Anyway, I want to know exactly what happened, since Nee-san is obviously against telling me."

Neji sighed. _Sure, throw me to the wolves,_ he thought. His eyes flickered over to Tenten who he could tell was struggling, but trying not to show it. "Let's sit down first," he suggested waving a hand towards the seats lining the wall.

Sukasu's eyes also shifted to Tenten, taking in her discomfort. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry about that Tenten," she apologized.

Tenten shook her head managing a smile, "No it's alright you don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."

Sukasu inwardly rolled her eyes, _of course she would say that_, she thought, then she changed tactics. "Well, anyway, I think after all the excitement I've just had in the past five minutes it would be better if I sat down for this story," she said, "Would you mind joining me?" She finished, patting the seat beside her.

Tenten eyed her for a second before sitting, "Sure," she replied.

Sukasu offered her a smile before turning her attention back to the issue at hand, "So?" She asked, leaning forward and placing her elbows on her knees.

Neji, who had sat down on her other side, let out another sigh before beginning.

"They ambushed us the night before, we were supposed to infiltrate…"

* * *

Begin Flashback:

_"Shit" Tenten cursed, jumping away from her previous spot towards Neji, and turning to face her attacker, or attackers as there were more than one._

_Her eyes danced from one form to the other taking note of their differing physiques, one was short and seemed to be female the other was taller and could have been male although the cloaks they were sporting made it hard to tell._

_She felt Neji shift closer to her side, a silent offer to help. She glanced over at their three other teammates noting they were in a similar position. _So this was planned_, Tenten thought focusing her attention back on the two in front of her._

_As she studied them she couldn't help but feel that something was off. _Why, haven't they attacked us, yet?_ She wondered checking to see if Neji had noticed this oddity as well._

_That's when she noticed the other figures that had appeared around the clearing. "Shit there's more," she mumbled._

_Neji nodded, "It seems we're surrounded."_

_"How many?"_

_Neji got quiet, his head tilted to the side seeming to contemplate her question. "At least 50, maybe more, it's hard to tell. Their chakra…" Neji trailed off, a disgusted shiver running down his spine._

_"Despicable," he muttered, the word and his attention directed at the two cloaked figures in front of them._

_"Wha...Neji?" Tenten sputtered, trying to get a grasp on the situation._

_Neji spared her an apologetic glance. "These people, if you can even call them that, have all been experimented on with forbidden jutsu."_

_Tenten's eyes flickered between the two. She gave a slight nod, "I figured as much, but my main problem is why haven't they attacked yet?"_

_Almost like as an answer to her question she heard a sharp cry from the group to her right and the unmistakable sound of metal against metal._

_Tenten turned her head to assess the situation leaving Neji to cover for her should something happen to them._

_She noticed that the gigantic cloaked figure in front of the three had barely moved an inch but that they were surrounded by whatever these figures lackeys were._

_Whatever had happened over there had brought one of their men down and the other two from their high defensive positions._

_Tenten heard Neji's sharp intake of breath and turned back to him with inquisitive eyes. "They got Neako," he breathed._

_Tenten bristled. Neako was their medic. _They shouldn't have been able to do that,_ She thought, _something's wrong they shouldn't have been able to take out one of our own so quickly. It doesn't make sense,_ she rambled on before something in Tenten's head clicked._

_She didn't want to think about the details, but she knew that their best hope of getting out of this thing was fighting in numbers, and right now they were clearly on the losing side of this battle._

_She should have thought of this before. By splitting up they had thought that they could split up whomever was against them into some semblance of a fair fight. Had it been just the cloaked figures in front of them that might have been possible, but they had whatever those things were behind them. Meaning that their search team was sorely outnumbered. It had been planned like this from the beginning, they had meant for them to take notice of the others only after they had been split up and they had taken out their medic. The one person that might've have gotten them through this unscathed._

_Tenten let out a string of curses under her breath. "Neji we need to get to the others," She mumbled unsure as to whether or not the two in front of her could hear. They still hadn't moved, and it was becoming unsettling._

_The only indication that Neji gave to hearing her was a small tilt of his head in her direction._

_"I don't think…" he started, but Tenten was having none of that._

_"They want us to be split up to make it easier for them. We have to get to the others," she repeated. Not even looking to see if he would follow, she set off in the others direction._

_She didn't get far for the taller of the two figures had somehow moved to get in front of her preventing her from getting through._

_"Keh, You think just standing there is going to do anything," she muttered. She jumped up preparing to land a roundhouse kick straight to the figures gut. "Out of my way!" She stated._

_Almost as in slow motion she saw her leg come down she saw the cloaked figures hand come up and wrap around her ankle. She felt the searing pain that shot up her leg, and that was all she had time to process before she was suddenly thrown 50 feet away from the clearing and into a tree._

_She came down on her toes. The burning feeling in her leg hadn't subsided but she was sure it wasn't broken. She didn't have time to check though because standing in front of her was the figure from before._

_He lifted a hand and Tenten prepared herself for another attack. The chuckle that came from the hooded figure, was not what she was expecting._

_The figure drew its hood back to reveal a young man not much older than her._

_"Oh, no," the man said, voice softer than silk. "You tried to go help your friends. That's not part of the plan we can't have that." He grinned, "Sister would get upset, and there is no cheating in this game."_

_Tenten took a step back, "Game? They thought this was a game?"_

_"Who are you?" She snarled, trying to get some information out of him before she pummeled him into the ground. She ignored the queasy feeling growing in her chest._

_"Hm," the man tilted his head, "My name?" He asked._

_"Yeah," Tenten replied retreating further, hoping to put as much distance between them as possible, before she attacked._

_No such luck, the man followed her movements. "Hm, my name, no one's ever asked me my name before," He spoke. "But usually they're already dead."_

_Tenten bit her lip, discreetly reaching for one of her scrolls as he rambled._

_"I suppose it's alright to tell you though, since you asked," The guy continued. "It's Mugoi, San Mugoi and my sister is Moriko Mugoi. Although you don't need to know that because you'll be dead before you meet her."_

_"Oh, will I?" Tenten muttered, not expecting him to hear her._

_"Yes, you will," San answered, wrinkling his brow like he was confused. "They all die before they reach sis."_

_"And why is that?" Tenten asked, not really caring if he answered her question. She was mainly hoping to distract him long enough so that she could come up with a plan on how to beat him._

_San looked down at his hands "Why is that? Why, because everything I touch melts away of course." He laughed as if his answer was the punchline to some big joke. "Master tells me my body is made of acid or something like that. At least I know that my skin acts like acid. It never used to be this way," San continued frowning. "But master seems happy so I'll be happy too," he continued, brightening considerably. "Besides I've learned how to control it enough that I just destroy what I want, and not just on accident like before."_

_Tenten looked surprised for a moment. _He actually answered my question_, she thought, then, _well that explains what happened to my leg_, she thought bitterly, _At least I can still stand. Maybe I can get more information out of him?_ She thought._

_"This master you keep mentioning, who is he?"_

_San shook his head, his brow furrowing in annoyance. "No, no more questions, I've already answered enough. Now if you'd stop hiding that scroll, and manage to hit me, I might answer a few more," He said, lunging forward._

_Tenten tsked, jumping back and deftly unfurling the scroll in her hand. If he was made of acid, she decided, she'd just have to rely on her weapons for the time being until she found a way around it._

_Meanwhile in the clearing Neji was facing off against the smaller of the two cloaked individuals._

_Out of all of them he could tell this one's chakra was the worst. It made him nauseous just looking at its vile, twisted, patterns._

_Neji tried to get his mind off the person in front of him by assessing the situation._

_So far, he could tell that Tatsumi and Ryuu were holding their own against the forbidden jutsu manipulated bandits. He couldn't sense Naeko anymore which troubled him, and the big guy who seemed to be commanding the others still hadn't moved yet._

_Tenten, he sensed, was not terribly far away from the clearing, and she looked to be holding up fine against her opponent. The only problem was that now they were even more split up than before and Neji sensed that wouldn't be a good thing._

_He heard a strange sound and turned his attention back to the figure in front of him._

_"Oh, look at you," a distinctly feminine voice floated up from beneath the hood. "You look so upset that your team has been separated."_

_Neji's eye twitched._

_"But don't worry dearest," the voice said, lifting its hood back revealing the child-like face within. "You'll be reunited with them soon enough," She tittered, rushing forward, kunai in hand, with a manic expression of glee etched across her face._

_She disappeared a split second before she hit him, Neji followed her with his Byakugan, flawlessly blocking the hit intended for his neck._

_His left arm came up to block, and his right hand moved to knock the kunai out of hers. The girl quickly retracted her hand rolling off to the side, she tapped one foot on the ground before jumping away to attack from his right._

_Tatsumi and Ryuu were having a time of it. They were doing their best to fend off most of the bandits and keep the big guy in their line of sight. Ryuu had tried to go after Neako as soon as she had been taken out, but had been met with a resistance of 50 strong. He and Tatsumi had fought them off well enough but the bastards just kept appearing out of nowhere._

What was really upsetting_, Ryuu thought peering through his black fringe to get a better look, _Was that the big guy that seemed to be commanding all these bandits hasn't moved an inch since the fight started.

What, does he think we're not worth his time?_ Ryuu thought. Disarming a bandit and throwing him to the ground breaking his neck in the process. He was immediately surrounded by 5 more to replace it._

_Tenten frowned wiping blood off of her face for the umpteenth time. This was getting annoying. Every time she thought she had an opening this guy, San, would counter it._

_She had done well to stay out of the way of his physical body. But that didn't stop him from getting near hers. She had realized only a second too late that one of his attacked had been meant to place himself behind her. She had managed to get away but not without the shallow gash now running above her eye._

_It would have been fine if not for that fact that if he had wanted to kill her right then and there the only thing he would have had to do was wrap his hands around her neck and let the acid do the rest of the work. She could only hope that it was due to this 'game' he was playing that that wasn't the case._

_She still couldn't quell the uneasy feeling she was getting from him that he wasn't really attempting to fight her at all._

* * *

_Neji's eye twitched again, as the girl-child's crazed laughter assaulted his senses, again. She seemed to be having fun messing around with him, since that's exactly what this was. He could tell her chakra had neither spiked nor dropped in the entire time they had been trading blows. Which led him to the conclusion that she was holding back._

_He grit his teeth, as he blocked yet another one of her kicks. "Come on," he muttered, "Stop holding back, didn't you say you were going to kill me?" he taunted._

_The girl's face fell as she jumped back, landing in her previous position on the ground, before the smile was back and she tittered, "Why? Are you not having fun?"_

_"This isn't about having fun," Neji spat back, disgusted. "Stop holding back, it's insulting."_

_The girls grin grew wider. "Fine, if that's what you want."_

_She spread her feet an equal distance apart on the ground and clapped her hands, looking away from him. "Okay, everyone, the boy has insisted that holding back is insulting, so it's time to start the real games."_

_Neji raised an eyebrow "Games?" Obviously, the tampering to her chakra had done a lot more than he thought._

_"That's right" she said, turning her grinning face back towards him. "It's time to play."_

_She flew forward and aimed a kick at his face. Neji brought his hands up to block it, wincing when the impact was more than he thought. The resulting bang that resounded throughout the clearing told him that his gut instinct was right, the girl had been holding back._

* * *

_Ryuu and Tatsumi paused sensing the vibe in the clearing change drastically. If it was possible the fight which had seemed almost dead before came alive in the moments after the crazed girls announcement._

_Bandits flooded into the clearing and the last figure under a cloak revealed itself to be a big hulking figure of solid black rock. The only thing differentiating it from a mountain was the bright shining eyes within its depths and the permanent sneer etched on its face._

* * *

_Tenten got blown back into a tree as a humongous gust of wind appeared out of nowhere. She looked up to see San laughing._

_"What is it now?" She asked._

_San clapped his hands. "Sister has just permitted the games to begin. Now I no longer need to hold back."_

_"Hold ba…"Tenten started, trying to pick herself out of the branches, she couldn't even finish the sentence before San was in front of her, hand latching onto her already burned leg._

_Tenten bit back a scream as the burned flesh was once again assaulted._

_San had adapted an insane light to his eyes. "Yes, hold back," he hissed "It was fun while it lasted, but I couldn't wait for the real games to begin. Let's see how long it takes before you beg for mercy. Five minutes? Ten?" He asked bring a hand up to wrap around her wrist._

_The flesh at the base of her hand began to melt away and Tenten felt tears come to her eyes as she wrenched herself away from his grasp._

_She landed on a tree branch a few yards away in the direction of the campsite. Her leg and arm were on fire but she would be damned if she let San see her in any type of pain. After all he seemed to get a kick out of it._

_The man in question didn't seem to mind that she had gotten away in fact he took his sweet time getting up and turning around. Tenten took that time to think. If there was some way she could lead him back to the clearing so she could team up with Neji, she had to find it. She had no idea was type of power the sister had but from the way San spoke she seemed to be the leader of the group. Tenten figured if she was able to make it back to Neji they might be able to find a way to beat these two. It would be better to have two minds come up with a plan instead of one._

_Tenten didn't have any more time to think on the subject before San was after her again._

* * *

_Neji spun through another rotation sending more bandits flying than he had time to count. It was one thing fighting against bandits and another fighting against one's that had been exposed to forbidden jutsu. Not to mention the girl-child, he still hadn't gotten her name, was stronger than she looked. When he had said to stop holding back he wasn't prepared of the surge in her powers that came with it. It was becoming too hard to follow her movements even with his Byakugan._

_Neji was really against using his Masahaiken Byakugan this early in the game. It was kind of like his trump card and there was no way he was pulling it out now. Although things were starting to look desperate._

_Ryuu and Tatsumi were starting to look worn out against the sheer amount of bandits they were bringing down not to mention the big rock guy had entered the mix and whatever he was doing, it wasn't looking well for those two._

_Neji sighed as the girl came after him again using the same move she had used the first time she attacked. Do you really think that's going to work? He thought, I've already seen it._

_He wasn't surprised when she disappeared again, a rogue taking her place. "Figures," he muttered blocking and going for another rotation._

_Right when he was about to spread his arms he felt a searing pain make its way down his right forearm. He saw a quick flash of steely blond hair go past him. It was all the information he needed to figure out what happened._

_That little bitch, she'd waited until his guard was down only slightly before making a move_

_Neji wasn't about to let her get away with thinking she could hit him on a whim. He increased his chakra output sending the rest of her lackeys flying._

_The girl chortled. "Upset?" She seemed unfazed by the loss of her men. "Well that's one hit for me, I suppose it's about time to switch with brother."_

_"You have a brother?" Neji asked inspecting his arm. The cut was deep, but not deep enough to sever any nerve endings, which meant it hurt like a bitch._

_"Hm? Yes, he's over there fighting that lady," The girl responded, pointing off in the direction Tenten was in._

_"Oh and what's his name?" Neji asked, lazily wondering if she was going to attack again, her stance suggested otherwise._

_Neji blinked and he was on his back, the little girl standing above him one boot pressing into his chest, holding him down. "How rude," she stated frowning "You haven't even asked for my name yet and you ask for his? Well I'm not telling, you can figure that out yourself, but my name is Moriko Mugoi, and you'd better remember that," She ended with her trademark manic grin, jumping back._

_Neji got up realizing something. "You're still holding back," He accused._

_She just grinned in response, before looking up into the trees, "Oh, brother's back."_

_Neji looked up when Tenten fell through the tree branches landing on her back in front of him, and the other previously hooded figure, presumably the aforementioned brother appeared beside Moriko._

_"Tenten, are you okay?" Neji asked._

_"Yeah, never been better," Tenten replied picking herself up. San was stronger than he let on and it was becoming harder to stand on her injured leg but she was trying to push through. "How are the others?" She asked._

_Neji turned back to their opponents, "For now, they're doing okay, but we can't continue to drag out these fights. We still have to find Naeko."_

_Tenten nodded. "That's easier said than done. Those two seem to have different plans," She added nodding in the Mugoi siblings' direction._

_The siblings in question seemed to be having a conversation of their own._

_"So brother, how many hits did you get?" Moriko asked._

_"A few," he answered, "You?"_

_"Only one good one, not enough to make him scream."_

_"Oh, that's too bad sister. Maybe you should just go all out. They never scream if you hold back."_

_"Did she scream?" Moriko asked, eying Tenten._

_"No," San answered annoyed. "I was hoping she would after I burned her arm and her leg, but she's still standing."_

_Moriko nodded, "Well it seems neither of us won this round. Would you like to play another game?"_

_"Like what?" San asked, hidden amusement flickering beneath his eyes._

_"Like, let's see who breaks first," Moriko suggested with a hint of excitement lacing her words._

_San chuckled, "We always play that one sister."_

_"Then let's change it up, we fight them together," Moriko added_

_"How is that a game?" San asked, "I'd be playing with you."_

_"Well there's still the two over there," Moriko indicated towards Tatsumi and Ryuu. "Let's play against Uchi."_

_San looked over towards where Uchi was standing. "Fine, that's different."_

_Tenten and Neji were regarding this conversation with mixed emotions. They could hear everything the two were saying as they weren't doing anything to hide it._

_Tenten was flickering between appalment and disgust while Neji was leaning more towards revulsion and loathing._

_Tenten shook her head, now was not the time to be judging the siblings mental health, they had to figure out a plan._

_"Neji got any ideas for how we're gonna beat them?" She asked, not caring if they heard._

_Neji glanced over at her then at the other two fighting 'Uchi' then shrugged. "I don't have much to go on. We don't know anything about them. Our best bet would be to fight them long enough to figure out what their moves are and what works against them, then go from there."_

_Tenten nodded, "What about the other two?" She asked._

_Neji glanced back over at two other ninja assigned to his group. "Hopefully, we can bring the fight over that way and find a way to regroup," he answered._

_Tenten sighed, pulling out another one of her scrolls. "Sounds like a plan, just be careful against the brother. His skin acts like acid."_

_"I can see that," Neji replied, falling into an offensive stance, eying her leg and hand respectively._

_Neji debated using his Masahaiken Byakugan for the second time, but again since she was holding back, he still wasn't sure of the extent of her powers and it wouldn't do to put himself out of commission if he underestimated her. He decided to continue using rotation and the 8 trigram palms until he had a better feel of her abilities. He thought advancing towards the siblings Tenten right beside him._

_As soon as the first blows met he felt the surge in power. It was accented by the two's matching grins._

_He and Tenten had a silent agreement to switch off opponents as much as possible. Hopefully that would keep them on their toes enough to wear them out if only a little._

_Tenten went after the sister first, narrowly avoid her overly strong punch to the gut before she was replaced by neji and was once again left facing the brother. San grinned, Tenten huffed. She jumped back out of the way twisting one of her scrolls to assault him with a barrage of weapons. She wasn't surprised when the melted to the ground around him. She switch places with Neji again, continuing their dance of death around the siblings who in turn were dancing around them_

_Watching from the sidelines was the rock giant Uchi. Uchi had taken to calling all of his opponent's by whatever feature defined them best. As of right now he was fighting, if you could even call it that, against two ninja. One who had a messy flop of black hair with tips dyed varying shades of green and the other who had a starburst tattooed on his left bicep._

_Currently Starburst man and the Green guy weren't putting up much of a fight. But that was to be expected. They were tired out. That's how it always was. They could only last so long against his pets. He wasn't even really fighting them as they tried another tag team attack, he was just toying with them. He could bring them down in a matter of seconds if he wanted to._

_His attention shifted to his leader and her brother. They were messing with the brown haired boy with the strange pale eyes and the girl that liked to throw weapons. They were putting up a good fight and making headway but it wouldn't be enough. The two were still just being toyed with._

* * *

_Tenten landed besides Neji panting, it was hard switching between mid-range and hand to hand combat, especially with her injuries. She looked beside her to where Neji was standing. They had been at it for a while but the Mugoi siblings seemed loath to change their fighting style to anything but what they were doing._

_"If we want them to show us their moves were going to have to do something different as well." Tenten mentioned to him._

_Neji nodded in confirmation his brow furrowed, he seemed upset. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this move but it seems I don't have a choice."_

_Tenten stared at him quizzically "What?"_

_Neji didn't answer her question choosing instead to ask one of his own._

_"Do you think you could take on the brother on your own for a while?" He asked. "This will probably work best if I just focus on one person instead of two." It's becoming impossible for me to keep up with her attacks as I am right now this is my only option._

_Tenten shook her head in affirmation slowly. She had no idea what Neji was on about, but whatever it was it was important enough that he didn't want to use it in actual battle._

_Neji offered her a small smile in thanks before turning his attention back to Moriko._

_Masahaiken Byuakugan, immediately Neji felt his energy reserves drop with the added pressure of trying to maintain the Masahaiken. At least now he would be able to follow Moriko's movements that much better. The only problem would be defense._

* * *

_Tenten moved towards San debating which of her scrolls to use first. She had fought against him long enough to figure out that what he had said before was true. The only things that burned where what he wanted to burn himself. It's how his clothes remained intact and the ground he was standing on didn't just melt underneath him._

_San eyed her with a leer as she skirted around him though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He was growing bored extremely quickly. Despite all the times he had managed to land a blow the girl had never once screamed. She just grit her teeth and moved away to be replaced with the long haired boy. The two were holding out way too long against him and his sister and he was starting to get tired._

_He wanted this game to progress a little faster, he thought to himself, as he produced a staff from the inner folds of his cloak. The staff was made of wood, with metal wings that protruded from the top and formed a point where a green jewel was held. The jewel was sharpened to a fine point and the wings had been tempered, each point tipped with gold._

_It was a nice staff, the jewel helped to channel his powers giving him a longer range for destruction. It was also helpful in speeding up the game._

_Tenten watched as San pulled a staff from his cloak noting that his hands didn't burn straight through the wood._

_A plan started formulating itself in her mind as she moved her tired body around him. Mechanically blocking and attacking at a whim making sure to stay out of the way of his body. In her distracted state of mind she forgot to account for his new staff though and was startled when she felt the familiar sting of a blade making its way down her collarbone._

_She jumped back landing on a low tree branch, she felt her leg scream in protest as she put more pressure on it. She looked down at her chest to inspect the wound before glancing back up to assess San._

_His staff was dripping blood, her blood she thought, from its wing tips, San seemed to be excited by this new development watching her as if waiting for something._

_"What?" she asked smirking, "You want me to fall over and die from a scratch?"_

_San frowned, obviously upset by her reaction. "Why won't you get upset, or scream, or something?" He asked_

_Tenten raised an eyebrow "You want me to get upset?" She asked, "You want me to scream? For what? I've had worse."_

_San did not like the sound of that, for his face twisted into that of a child about to throw a tantrum. He dove at her. Tenten tried to dodge out of the way, but she was too slow. He came upon her and landed a hard kick to her stomach that sent her flying. She flew back straight into Neji who was trying to dodge one of Moriko's more ruthless attacks. She slammed into him sending them both to the ground._

_She didn't have time to recover before San had picked her up by the neck, and slammed her into the ground once more. She felt her ribs crack from the force though she noted that he wasn't trying to burn her. Obviously under the impression that that wasn't going to get a rise out of her for the time being._

_Tenten thought quickly noting that he was able to keep from burning her just by thought alone apparently and she also noticed that he didn't burn his staff either._

_There was also the fact that he seemed to pause for a moment before he touched the things he didn't want to burn, like he was consciously retracting the acid. An idea popped into her head. It was a long shot but if he wasn't going to burn her, for the time being, then she would be able to engage him in close range combat._

_If she was able to distract him enough to think that she was focusing on using her body to fight him maybe in the seconds before he realized what was going on she could pull out a kunai and slit his throat and the whole thing would be over with._

_Tenten brought her good leg up kneeing the man above her in the abdomen. The split second falter that occurred as he was momentarily knocked off balance was enough for her to kick her way out from under him and land in a safer space a little ways away. Her cracked ribs now screaming in protest alongside her leg and hand. But she ignored their cries for rest, focusing instead on putting her plan into action._

* * *

_Neji picked himself up from the ground, caught off guard by Tenten, he couldn't do much to help her when San picked her up and threw her to the ground again. He was doing as much as he could as it was just trying to dodge and lay in an attack here and there._

_Neji winced knowing his stomach was going to be incredibly bruised later._

_Moriko was laughing waiting patiently for him to pick himself up. She had that much confidence in herself. It irked him. Here they were doing everything in their power to bring the crazed siblings down and they were barely even breaking a sweat._

_He trained his eyes on her noticing for the first time why the flow of her chakra upset him so much. It was backwards. It was twisting in all the wrong directions which would explain why his 8 trigrams 64 palms had been failing so far. He had been going about it the usual way and that had gotten him nowhere. It just added an extra scratch to his name and more laughs as the Morikos hit count went up. He realized what he had been doing wrong. In order to beat her, he had to start from the back and work his way in, so to speak._

_Moriko watched in mild interest as Neji advanced towards her again. Wondering what he would do this time. Things had become a tad more interesting after the girl had left, but that was only because he seemed to be able to read her attacks better it didn't change his attacks at all and she was starting to lose patience as this game was quickly losing its fun. She decided to let him get one hit in just for her amusement._

_She wasn't expecting his next attack though. When his hands made contact with her skin she felt like something had pierced through her layers and blocked all feeling in her lower arms. She jumped back but Neji followed._

_"4 palms."_

_She lost feeling in her hands._

_"8 palms."_

_Her upper arms._

_"16 palms."_

_Her leg. This was bad, Moriko thought stumbling, still dragging herself backwards fighting the numbing feeling beginning to course through her body. At this rate the boy might actually be able to do something._

* * *

_Uchi looked up when he noticed the boss stumble. It was unusual for her to lose her balance in a fight. It must be something the boy is doing, Uchi thought. This is bad no one has been able to touch the missus before I must stop him. _

_Uchi moved quickly leaving the two other ninja barely worth his time behind him. He appeared in front of Moriko._

_Uchi grinned when he felt the young boy's wrist snap against his rocky surface. He knew for certain that the boy wasn't expecting him to intervene on Moriko's behalf but that had been his mistake. He watched in silent triumph as the boy leapt back cradling his wrist and eying him with unhidden contempt._

_Uchi could tell that whatever the boy was doing was taking its toll as he was considerably weaker than he had been five minutes before. He was breathing heavy and his muscles were straining, but there was still enough life in him for a few interesting moments of combat._

_Uchi advanced forward towards the brown haired boy with the strange eyes._

_Neji watched as the hulking rock figure moved towards him. The big man was surprisingly light on his feet which did not bode well for Neji. He was pushing his limits as it was and he was aware that his chakra network was beginning to break down under the strain. He felt Tatsumi and Ryuu coming up behind him to offer some support, as he prepared himself for another fight._

* * *

_Tenten watched as Neji tried to hold his own against Uchi with Tatsumi and Ryuu to back him up. She was worried because it was three to two, but the three were a little worse for wear. Hopefully she could join them soon though she thought as she put her half formed plan into action._

_She jumped up spinning for a kick and leading with her bad leg to throw San off._

_San watched her already growing bored with this game. "What are you going to try and kick me? Your leg's barely functioning as it is." He sneered._

_"To bad," Tenten said flipping around and grinning, "Because that's not what you should be worried about."_

_San's eyes widened when he noticed the knife in her hand he moved to get out the way, but it was too late to avoid the blow. He felt it as the cold metal slid across his face and over his nose. He couldn't comprehend the burning feeling it left in its wake he only knew that his perfect face had been marred, by this bitch who just wouldn't give up._

_He saw her grin in triumph when she landed the hit because it meant he could be touched. They could wound him. Her smiling face upset him. She wasn't supposed to smile she was supposed to be screaming in pain. Writhing, begging for mercy under his acid hands, and she was smiling. This was unacceptable._

_His thoughts boiled over into a sea of red. No more games. She was going to die._

_San twirled his staff around and screamed in rage and defiance._

_That's when all hell broke loose. In a matter of seconds both Tatsumi and Ryuu were brought down and Neji was sent flying his head slamming into the base of a tree before he landed on the ground unmoving._

_Tenten didn't have any time to react before San was upon her stabbing through her stomach with the tip of his staff. She was lifted up in the air by the point of the staff, causing her to cough up blood as it flooded her lungs. She was tossed like a rag doll to earth below landing on her back with a thud. She gasped for breath the wind having been knocked clear out of her system._

_She felt San's presence beside her as he came into her field of vision the ground beneath his feet smoking as it melted away._

_"You'll pay for that, you bitch," San sneered wiping blood off his face and moving closer. Tenten could clearly see the knife wound she'd dealt running clear across his face. She was upset because she had missed her mark, but excited because her plan actually worked. Now if only she could do it again._

_Tenten tried to get up it found that her body wouldn't listen to her. All her limbs were like lead they stayed on the ground where they had landed._

_San moved his staff poised above her arm, the closest body part to him. "I'll make you suffer," he continued, "I'll impale every limb, I'll make you scream for mercy. I'll avoid your vital organs though I don't want you to die too soon after all, but I'll make sure that every other square inch of your body will be grinded to a bloody pulp. You won't even recognize yourself by the time I'm done and then I'll carve out your heart and keep it in my collection as a trophy. Maybe I'll gouge out your eyeballs too, and set them up across from you heart so you can see it in my possession for all eternity." San's whispered threats had risen in volume until he was screaming at the girl beneath him. He raised the staff to bring it down on the appendage before his sister's voice stopped him._

_"Stop" came the command "We are being summoned brother, it's best to leave her, you don't want another scolding do you?"_

_San glared down at Tenten, "You are lucky that master chose this time to call us," he spat at her, before slowly backing away to follow his sister._

_"Come," Moriko demanded, "Stop moving so slow, we can always come back later, none of them will be able to get very far in the states there in," she said, dropping her gaze to land on the others surrounding the campsite. "Besides, we've already got their medic," she added, disappearing back into the foliage, her brother close behind._

_Tenten let out a stuttering breath, struggling to sit up on her knees. Her attempts only landed her on her back, staring up at the sky. She coughed up blood, turning her head to spit it out to the side. Her erratic movements had only succeeded in aggravating her injuries. Her cracked ribs were screaming in protest, she felt like she was going to pass out from the pain. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she should probably try and stop the bleeding in her abdomen. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she should try and see if the others were okay, but she could do that later. All she wanted right now was to rest. After all she had just had to fight those two insane siblings, she deserved a moment of peace._

_Tenten stared up at the pale sky, her vision fading in and out. She listened to the birds that had been disturbed from their roost during the fighting earlier, slowly return to their nests. It was peaceful till she remembered what the crazy sadistic sister had said before she left, "We can always come back later...besides we've already got their medic." "Fuck," Tenten muttered, there were others that were worse off than she was, she could deserve to take a break later. Preferably far away from the Mugoi siblings and their sadistic games._

_Tenten struggled to sit up, almost blacking out in the process. "Okay," she murmured to herself several deep breaths later, "Maybe that wasn't the best idea," she conceded. "Let's try this again, a different way this time."_

_She flipped back over to her stomach, more carefully this time, still wincing at the pain it caused her, and shuffled onto her knees. Wrapping one arm around her abdomen to keep pressure on the wound, she managed to get to her feet and nearly fell over again._

_She wobbled, catching herself on the tree trunk near where she had landed and cried out at the feeling that shot up her arm, her one open eye slid over to the arm in question, taking note of the burn covering her hand and wrapping its way up the limb. She huffed, too many injuries to keep track of, I really just want to fall over...No, I have to make sure everyone else is okay, first. _

_With just that thought she pushed herself over to where she had last seen Neji. She found him borderlining on unconsciousness, "Neji," she called out to him, checking over the damage he had sustained as best she could._

_His right arm was covered in blood and she knew from the hit he had taken before that his left wrist was probably broken. There were a few cuts along his neck and she knew that blow to the ribs had affected them both, but she also knew the real problem would be that head injury he had sustained during his last fight. "Neji," she called again, her voice barely above a whisper. She had found earlier, that trying to speak above a whisper only ended up bringing up more blood._

_"Neji, hey, how're you doing? Can you stand?" She asked, once she saw him stir beneath her._

_"Yeah, give me a moment," he responded, after a moment of silence. He seemed to have less trouble getting to his feet than she did, but then he didn't have acid burns on his leg and stab wound to his name either._

_When he was finally standing, he looked her up and down, judging her injuries for himself. "How are the others?" he asked after a moment._

_"Not good, those bandits really did an number on them," she responded shifting her gaze over to the two other ninja lying on the ground that she had passed on her way to Neji, "they have a couple of hours at best, they've lost a lot of blood. I'm sure there's a lot of internal damage too, not to mention possible poisoning. And I have no idea about…"_

_Neji grimaced, following her gaze, "Yeah I would try and go after her, but at this point…" he didn't finish his thought, but Tenten knew what he wanted to say._

_At this point it probably wouldn't do much good, besides we don't even know if she's still alive. _

_"Yeah," she responded looking away, "Any chance we can make it back to the village alive?" She asked switching the subject back to the issue at hand._

_Neji made a face, "Us, maybe, them, not so much," he replied, waving his good hand towards Tatsumi and Ryuu._

_"Think we can try?" Tenten asked._

_Neji was shaking his head, "We don't know the extent of the damage done to their bodies. If we move them now it might make things worse. But," he continued when he saw Tenten start to speak again, "On the other hand, we don't have much of a choice. If we stay here and wait for help, those two will probably come back and we'll be sitting ducks._

_"So what's your plan?" Tenten asked._

_"Make it as far as we can, before sending out a distress signal. Hopefully, someone on our side will be within range."_

_Tenten nodded, "Sounds good. So, what do we do first?" she asked, looking around at all the destruction they had caused._

_"First," Neji said, assessing their injuries again, "We clean ourselves up, then we check them and figure out what the best course of action for moving them would be."_

_"Then, we get the hell out of here?" Tenten threw in._

_Neji paused then nodded, "Then we get the hell out of here," he repeated._

_Ten minutes later and Neji had wrapped Tenten's hand and leg and had cleaned the cut over her eye as best he could. She had done the rest, wrapping the stab wounds at her waist, and somehow managing to stabilize Neji's wrist. She also wrapped his head, before she cleaned the blood off his arm._

_"There's not much I can do about this gash. You're probably going to need stitches," Tenten said after taking a closer look at the wound._

_"Just wrap it as best you can," Neji responded. "I'm more worried about the other two at the moment, we're running out of time."_

_"I know," Tenten said, looking for a big enough piece of cloth she could use to wrap the cut._

_"Come on," Neji said, when she finished tying off the knot, "Let's get going."_

_"Right," Tenten said, making to follow her captain._

End Flashback:

* * *

"So in the end, we had to carry Ryuu and Tatsumi on our backs, but we didn't have enough chakra to make it that far and ended up passing out about 3 miles from the village."

"Luckily there were some other leaf nin around who saw our signal and were able to transport us back," Neji finished.

Sukasu had been surprisingly silent for the duration of his story, and he glanced over to see her leaning forward, staring at nothing in particular.

When she realized he had finished she sat back in the chair. "That," she began, "was a very interesting story. It's not unheard of for ninja to get ambushed while on a mission, but what's really getting to me is the nature of the people who ambushed you." Sukasu continued, finally facing him, her eyes ablaze with untamed fire. "What was the name of the village you were supposed to be infiltrating again?" Sukasu grit out, her eyes daring him to lie to her.

Neji back tracked over what he had just said wondering what would make her so incredibly angry until he realized it. He'd accidentally let slip exactly who had ambushed them during the story, which had just clued her into what they had been up to. _Shit_

"Neji, I'm waiting," Sukasu said, her voice quiet with barely contained anger.

"The name of the village was Ushinatta," Neji finally replied, with an apologetic stare.

Sukasu let out a long slow sigh when she heard the name, her eyes trained on the Hokage.

"Suka…" Neji started.

Sukasu silenced him with a glare, "Excuse me for a moment, Neji, Tenten, I think I need some air," she bit out standing up and marching towards the door with a pointed look on her face.

Neji, glanced towards the Hokage as he watched his girlfriend stalk towards the metal doors.

"Do you think she mad at us?" Tenten asked.

The Hokage and Neji both let out short sounds of mock amusement. "Oh no, she's pissed," Neji replied.

"Are you going to follow her?" Tenten asked, directing her attention to no one in particular.

Neji watched on in interest. There was no way he was jumping in on this one. It was Tsunade's call not his.

Tsunade seemed to read his thoughts as she stood from her chair slowly, "I suppose I should," she said making to follow the shorter girl out the door.

"This won't end well," Neji commented as they watched her exit.

* * *

When Tsunade exited into the hallway she found Sukasu waiting for her arms crossed, and face looking like she was ready for battle.

"Why? Why did you decide it was a good idea to send him out there?"

"Because despite your misgivings he is an elite ninja, he's entitled to a few S-ranked missions, every now and then." Tsunade replied, noncommittally.

Sukasu glared at her, "Let's get one thing straight first, I never said I had misgivings about his abilities, in fact I don't. What I do have a problem with however is the fact that you sent out a team that had no idea what the hell they were getting into."

"I debriefed them properly, are you implying that I can't even do my own job?" Tsunade bit back,

"I'm sure you did, but that's not my point. They didn't scout the area, they didn't spend months on end spying on this army. Those missions were assigned to me in the past. I was the one who did the scouting. I specialize in infiltrations and assassination, not him. It was my responsibility, I know the risks. It's not like this was just some random band of misfits and outlaws, where you can go in and take out them out with no difficulty. This wasn't just some simple mission, people will die, hell, from the sound of it one already has."

"And then of all the people that had to come after them, the Mugoi siblings. They're the highest ranking under Kisuge and he's right under their leader! And they don't come out and 'play' for no reason. They knew they were coming and that just makes this whole thing even worse!" Sukasu's voice rose steadily as she spoke, till she was almost screaming at the woman no longer able to control her anger

"I know that," Tsunade bellowed back. "Do you think I didn't plan this out you think I didn't realize that as soon as I heard? It's impossible to think they would appear for no reason, and as for you, you know exactly why I couldn't send you," She snarked, Staring pointedly at Sukasu's stomach.

Sukasu drew back, placing a protective hand over her belly, "You knew?" She voiced icily.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Of course I knew, I'm a trained medic, I know the signs when I see them. But at the time it didn't seem like you were aware of it at all, and it looks like the father still isn't."

The fire that had previously died down with Tsunade's revelation lept back up with a vengeance.

"Well of course he doesn't know," Sukasu replied her voice dripping acid. "I didn't even know until he was sent out on this mission that I conveniently didn't know the details of. And of course I couldn't tell him when he got back because he's in the fucking hospital. Why? Oh yeah, cause he almost died."

"He's not dead though," Tsunade muttered under her breath.

Sukasu caught it and rounded on her, "But he could have been, he could be dead! Tsunade and where would I be then? I'd be even more of an outcast then I already am! I just started peace treaty talks with the Hyuuga I just made significant progress. But where would I be if he's dead after going on a mission that was meant for me and I'm conveniently knocked up with his child. Everything I worked for up until now would be null and void. They would never believe me that I didn't know. They would never allow me and my child to live after that. I would be living in hell all over again. But I guess you didn't take that into account when you were planning this mission, did you?"

"And what would you have had me do?" Tsunade retaliated. "Send you out instead? In the condition you're in? You could be worse off than them," Tsunade said indicating the waiting room down the hall. "And then what? What about Neji?"

"And then what!" Sukasu repeated "And then what! Tsunade I'd be dead either way. I'm fucking expendable to them. The council would love to be rid of me one less problem to deal with. I'm not a person to them, I'm a tool! They don't care! What about Neji, You ask? I just spent the last hour thinking he, the person I love, the father of my child, might be dead or dying, and come to find out it would be something that had to do with me. That could have been prevented if you had sent me. But why not, because of my health? Because of my baby? Because you don't think I'm strong enough? Because you don't think I'll make it out alive?"

"At this point, no you wouldn't make it out alive, you're not strong enough, you have other things to worry about besides this failed mission, and at this point so do I. I now have to think up another plan to retrieve the master stone before this gets out of hand, and standing here arguing with you isn't helping," Tsunade ground out making it clear that that was the end of the discussion. Turning around she started making her way back to the waiting room.

She expected Sukasu to return with her but she didn't. Instead Sukasu stood in her position unmoving and incredibly pissed off, thinking on what Tsunade had said.

_She wouldn't send her out on this mission because of the risks involved. But if there was a way for her to complete it fast, without having to worry about her strength, a way where she could retrieve the stone, destroy the higher ups, a way where everything would work out..._Sukasu thought her mind reeling.

"That's it," she whispered to Tsunade's back.

"What's that?" Tsunade asked.

Sukasu looked up, "The seal. I want it off, now"

Tsunade whorled around "What? Are you insane?"

Sukasu shook her head, "No I want the seal off. I can't wait for you to think up another plan to be botched. I'm going to complete this mission, by myself the way I was supposed to and in order to do that I need the seal off."

"That's crazy," Tsunade stated shaking her head, "No, I'm not going to do it."

"To bad, you don't have a choice, that's the price for not telling me remember? The seal comes off when I say it does." Sukasu didn't wait for a response before she turned around to walk down the hall

Tsunade was shaking her head "And what happens if you die?" She called after her.

Sukasu stopped turning her head so that Tsunade could see her eyes. They were angry, angry and confident, a deadly combination. "I won't."

Tsunade sat back on her heels there was no way she could fight this. The girl's mind was made up. it was a crazy suicidal plan and there was no way she'd make it out with no repercussions she could force her to stay but she knew it wouldn't do any good, "They'll know you're coming," she said.

"So what," Sukasu responded under her breath, "Let them see me, I'll destroy all of them anyway," she ended stalking out the building.

Tsunade walked back into the waiting room, pissed and a little worried. "There's no way she'll be able to take the seal off and not suffer the consequences. She's not thinking straight. The whole idea is insanity."

Tsunade sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose hoping to relieve some tension. _I'll send some ANBU out after her hopefully they can calm her down and get her back here before she harms herself,_ she thought, her eyes falling on Neji, _or her baby._ Tsunade sighed again.

Neji looked up, "How'd it go?" He asked.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"That bad?"

"You couldn't hear the screaming?"

"Yeah," he replied letting his head rest in his hand, "I heard it, but then it got quiet. I thought you managed to calm her down, but since she's not walking back in here with you I'm assuming that was not the case?"

Tsunade was shaking her head before he even finished. "No, I didn't calm her down, actually I think I made it worse."

"How so?" Neji asked.

Tsunade eyed him debating whether or not she should tell him everything. In the end she decided against it. It was Sukasu's decision not hers. Tsunade sighed, "I'm afraid she's about to do something stupid."

* * *

A/N: So uhh...Comments, questions, concerns?...Yes the big reveal Sukasu is pregnant! Oh my! Don't worry I am going somewhere with this...just think of this as a plot twist to begin plot twist, hehe I'll let you thin k on that one. Umm other than that yes this was one of my longer chapters, I don't know if any later chapters will get as long only time will tell but keep you fingers crossed I have passed over the proverbial hump in my writing and will have smooth sailing from here. No that does not mean this was the climax, kind of sh**ty climax if it was one don't you think? maybe that's just my opinion but Anyway pray for me or whatever and maybe I'll update faster (whispers: I'm praying for myself too) As always thank you and please review!


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